Tye Ruotolo has never been shy about chasing big fights, and now he has landed the biggest of his young MMA career.
The current ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion gets his shot at gold on Friday, November 6, when he takes on two-division champion Christian Lee for the ONE Lightweight MMA World Title at The Inner Circle 37, streaming via live.onefc.com from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The 23-year-old American carries an 11-0 ONE record into the contest, with just two MMA fights on his resume. But history is on the line. A win would make him the first fighter to hold ONE World Titles in both submission grappling and MMA.
His MMA rise has been swift. After dominating the grappling world, he made his debut in 2025 against Lee’s younger brother Adrian Lee, submitting him via rear-naked choke. Nearly three months later, he submitted Shozo Isojima. He also comes off a successful defense of his grappling crown this year. Ruotolo insists the belief behind this challenge is not new.
“I called out Christian, and I was confident that I had the ability to beat him, and that was even prior to the Adrian Lee fight,” he said.
Lee, 28, is the Singapore-American holder of the ONE Lightweight and Welterweight MMA World Titles. His 18-4 ONE record includes 17 finishes, and he owns the most wins, finishes, and knockouts in promotional history. Ruotolo is not intimidated by those numbers.
“I may have only had two MMA fights, but I truly feel if you put me on the other side of the ring with anybody close to my size, the odds of me ending the fight are very high,” he explained.
The challenger expects no easy night, but he is certain how it ends.
“It’s going to be a war. I don’t think it’s going to be easy, but I think I’m going to leave with the belt around my waist, and it’s going to be a gnarly night,” he added.
Leave a comment
Please login to leave a comment.