“It’s going to be tough” – Tye Ruotolo expects a stiff fight versus Dagestani Magomed Abdulkadirov

American grappling sensation Tye Ruotolo will tackle his next assignment on the global stage with a similar mindset despite the added stakes.

At ONE Fight Night 16 on Friday, November 3, the Atos representative squares off against promotional newcomer Magomed Abdulkadirov for the inaugural ONE welterweight submission grappling world title.

While he may dream of tasting gold on the grandest stage of martial arts, the 20-year-old senses that his opponent from Dagestan will try and make life difficult for him as soon as their single-round, 10-minute contest gets underway inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Speaking to The MMA Superfan, Tye Ruotolo said:

“Yeah, for sure, it's going to be tough. They have good wrestling over there, and I'm not going to take anything different than what I normally do every time.”

Watch the interview here:

Through his submission-hunting approach and non-stop aggression, the California native has stamped his brand against top-tier opposition throughout his run under the ONE banner.

In his debut, he claimed a 97-second submission win over Garry Tonon. Seven months later, he added another highlight-reel finish to his resume versus Dagestani beast Marat Gafurov at ONE on Prime Video 5.

He carried that form into this year with back-to-back wins against Reinier de Ridder and Dagi Arslanaliev to earn a shot at the promotion’s first welterweight submission grappling title.

Tye Ruotolo hopes to make it a clean sweep of five out of five versus Abdulkadirov in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 16 next.

The entire November 3 bill will air live and for free in U.S. primetime for North American Amazon Prime Video subscribers.