'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAYACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABiAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAcQAAIBAwMFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwAEBRMhIgYREhRhAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAFBhEBAQACAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIAEQNhEiFR/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwDDsVmHylhYzW2RyduslpN60uodZFi4cyrAOSR332FQPJ15j2azTMQyJbkxK7q3kwTiCfppSpOUdFTNFbXykr2PeLcjUzKVQvb8M//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
ONE Championship currently has a renaissance of submission grappling athletes on its roster. Ever since minting their own submission grappling world titles, ONE Championship has started drafting some of the best grapplers in the world.
They've got legends like Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida, Garry Tonon, Michelle Nicolini, and Andre Galvao in their line-up of ground assassins. They also have modern-day icons like the Ruotolo brothers, Mikey Musumeci, Danielle Kelly, and Bianca Basilio.
It won't be long until they become a major league in competitive grappling alongside IBJJF and ADCC if they aren't already. In a recent Instagram post, ONE Championship asked its fans who they think has the best ground game in the promotion:
Trending
"Who do YOU think owns the mats at ONE? 🤔"
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Needless to say, fans jumped the gun to chime in on the debate in the comments section. Their reactions and opinions were quite diverse:
@robert.mzh chose the ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion and 5-time IBJJF world champion Mikey Musumeci:
"Hands down Mikey is the BEST!"
@wasabibatman2021 had a hot take:
"I know this might be an overrated or underrated answer but I feel Angela Lee adopted her grappling into mma better than anyone. Who tf pulls twisters when you are afraid of getting your head bashed in. Pure grappling means also the use of it in battle"
Perhaps the most interesting one came from @muaythaifootprints, who suggested a concept commonly explored in the world of competitive grappling:
"I sense an open-weight grappling tournament to find out. 😁"
ONE Championship books submission grappling superfight between Reinier de Ridder and Tye Ruotolo
Speaking of openweight matches in competitive grappling, this concept will be explored thoroughly at ONE Fight Night 10. Reigning ONE middleweight and former light heavyweight title holder Reinier de Ridder will lock horns with ADCC openweight medalist Tye Ruotolo in ONE's first-ever US show.
On May 5, the heralded 'Dutch Knight' will dip his toes again in straight grappling matches nearly a year after going the distance with Ruotolo's mentor, Andre Galvao at ONE X.
The Dutch grappling specialist will potentially outweigh his opponent Tye by over 30 lbs once they hit the mats. This might play a huge role in the outcome of the upcoming battle.
In a preview video produced by ONE Championship, we get to have an idea of what this size disparity can mean. Although he will be outweighed and out-sized, Ruotolo has proven in the past that he can defeat significantly larger opponents.
In the 2022 ADCC Absolutes division, Ruotolo defeated former openweight gold medalist, Felipe Pena. What made the win even more impressive was the fact that Pena outweighed the young prodigy by nearly 50 pounds.
Ruotolo, unlike De Ridder who is primarily an MMA fighter, has been grappling for nearly his entire life. De Ridder uses his grappling as a base for MMA while Ruotolo has been honing his skills in the sport for more than 15 years. This is going to be an interesting battle to see.
