Tye Ruotolo turned heads Friday when he became ONE Championship lightweight champion in just over two minutes' time against Christian Lee.
It was a club-and-sub submission for the 23-year-old Ruotolo (3-0), who picked up major promotional gold in only his third professional fight. The brevity of the fight even surprised him.
"It felt amazing," Ruotolo said in the cage after the fight. "I've got the best team in the world. I'm so prepared. I feel like I can truly beat anyone at 175 pounds. It doesn't matter. All the work we've put in the past few months, all coming together right there. It was beautiful. I surprised myself, 'Oh sh*t.' I didn't think I was going to drop him right there. ... I was feeling sh*tty all week. I told my team, 'I'm not
going past two rounds, bro. This is going to get done in one, no matter what.'"
Ruotolo was joined by his brother, Kade Ruotolo, in the cage. Both built their names as jiu-jitsu phenoms before their pivots to MMA. They hold a combined 7-0 record, with Kade at 4-0, with all his fights also coming for ONE Championship.
The two compete in the same weight class of a 170 pounds, meaning someone is likely going to shift up or down – but that's not a bad problem to have.
"I'm grateful," Tye said. "That's the first thing I'm thinking of. Look at my team. It's unbeatable. All you guys. I have the best team in the world. There's no question, no matter who we fight. This is the winning squad right here, Tyler Wombles, Erik Paulson, my brother Kade Ruotolo. He's going to be here next. We've got to figure it out because we're in the same division. I don't want to fight him. We're going to figure it out and I'm just so blessed. I'm so happy. Best team in the world."
As for what's next, Tye welcomes any and all challengers for his first defense. Perhaps there will be some grappling before that, but he's keeping his options open.
"I'm ready for anything," Tye said. "Whoever you guys want to see me (against) is who I'll be (fighting), whether that's defending my jiu-jitsu belt or the MMA belt. Wherever you guys want me, I'm here. I'm here to stay for a long time. I love what I do. I'm having a good time doing it. So, you guys let me know, and I'll be here."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Tye Ruotolo even surprised himself with brevity of ONE Championship title win
