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Tye Ruotolo is never one to underestimate his opponents, and that is the same mindset the ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion will pack into his arsenal on July 5.
The Atos representative puts his pristine 6-0 promotional record on the line against ONE Championship debutant Jozef Chen in a catchweight tussle at ONE Fight Night 23, knowing all too well what his dance partner will bring when they tango inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Though he remains a heavy favorite to enjoy another triumphant outing on the largest stage of combat sports, he refuses to be over-confident because of the dangers that Chen brings to the table.
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In a recent interview with Sportskeeda MMA's Nick Atkin, Tye Ruotolo sang praise for his teenage opponent. While at that, he bared his excitement to face another tough assignment on the global stage.
The 21-year-old noted:
"He's a super formidable opponent, you know, he's super tough, [has a] really good technique, you know, which is something that really excites me."
North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE Fight Night 23 card live in U.S. primetime for free this Friday, July 5.
Watch his full interview here:
Tye Ruotolo's perfect run in ONE Championship
Despite the respect he has for the South African's top-notch canvas game, Tye Ruotolo has proven time and time again that there are levels to this game.
Since opening his ONE Championship account in May 2022 with a 97-second submission win over Garry Tonon, the California native has taken his streak to 6-0.
Along the way, Ruotolo has submitted Dagestani destroyer Marat Gafurov, Turkish beast Dagi Arslanaliev, and most recently, Australian standout Izaak Michell.
He also owns unanimous decision wins over Reinier de Ridder and Magomed Abdulkadirov, the latter being in an inaugural ONE welterweight submission grappling world championship tussle.
Tye Ruotolo continues to evolve at a rapid pace with each passing appearance, and it should be a similar affair when he gets back into action at ONE Fight Night 23.
