"Could have been better" - Tye Ruotolo candidly rates his performance in fast-paced grappling war with Jozef Chen

Tye Ruotolo was not overly satisfied with his latest performance at ONE Fight Night 23 despite coming out on top.

The ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion has high expectations of himself, even when he's facing top-tier opposition.

At ONE Fight Night 23, he went up against teenage grappling prodigy Jozef Chen in a clash of two young but elite competitors.

It was a very closely contested affair with neither man being able to make a real statement over the other but ultimately, Tye took the contest on the scorecards.

He was disappointed to not come away with a finish but after battling through some difficult circumstances before the match-up, he was happy to get his hand raised.

Ruotolo reviewed his performance in a post-fight interview with the South China Morning Post:

"It was all right, you know. I don't want to sit here and make a bunch of excuses. Definitely could have been better, to be completely honest, but I got it done and that's all that matters."

Watch the full interview below:

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Tye Ruotolo came away with mixed emotions

Ultimately, Tye Ruotolo's high expectations made his performance at ONE Fight Night 23 less impressive.

At the same time, it is his mentality of always wanting to put his best foot forward and submit to opponents that makes him one of the best in the world.

Even when dealing with physical health issues that have been lingering since his last outing, he expects to be the best in the world and prove it.

July 5 was by no means his best performance to date, but it did show the resilience and fighting spirit that he brings to the table, along with his ability to pull out the win in difficult circumstances.

The replay of ONE Fight Night 23 is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in North America.