Tye Ruotolo just made history in Bangkok, Thailand, with a quick first-round submission victory over Christian Lee to claim the ONE Championship lightweight belt (170 pounds under ONE rules) on Friday morning.
Prior to the fight, Ruotolo told MMA Fighting he was very likely to win by submission but had “a lot of cool tools that I’m looking to whip out in the fight as well.” He has definitely shown that, dropping Lee with a combo on the feet, and then some ground and pound work, before taking the back
and sinking in the rear-naked choke for the tap in just over three minutes of the fight.
“I 100 percent wanted to get it done in the first round.” Lee told Bangkok Post News after the win. “It was epic. Got my hands go. I consider that a TKO [laughs] even though I finished him with the sub.”
Ruotolo, who also holds the ONE grappling belt, is now a MMA champion with only three professional fights, all won by first-round rear-naked choke in ONE. He also received a $100,000 bonus for his performance at the Lumpinee Stadium.
