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After a successful showing at ONE Fight Night 23, Tye Ruotolo plans to take some time off to address a few lingering injuries.
Three months removed from a submission victory over Izaak Michell, the reigning ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion returned to the legendary Lumpinee Stadium for a showdown with 19-year-old debutant Jozef Chen.
Though Ruotolo was unable to get the finish, he was more than dominant throughout the 10-minute affair, securing a unanimous decision victory.
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Speaking with Sportskeeda MMA following his victory, Ruotolo expressed disappointment with his performance and revealed that he's still dealing with some injuries that he plans to address before signing up for another match.
"100 percent, I’m going to take a little bit of time [off]," Ruotolo said. "It shouldn’t take too much. Just can’t neglect the body. I can’t just green-light it all the time. Get in front of this issue and come back way stronger, way better no matter what.
"I guess just no excuses. I didn’t want to bring this up. But yeah, I’ll be feeling better no matter what next time."
Tye Ruotolo ready for his long-awaited MMA debut
Though it may be a minute before we see Tye Ruotolo back inside the Circle, the 21-year-old grappling wizard has some pretty big plans laid out for late 2024/early 2025.
Aside from defending his title one more time before the end of the year, Ruotolo plans on following in his brother's footsteps by making his own mixed martial arts debut.
"It's something I've been wanting to do for a while, especially after watching my brother go and kill it," Ruotolo said in a post-fight interview. "It's something that I really want to do."
Tye Ruotolo's twin brother and fellow ONE world champion—Kade Ruotolo—made his MMA debut at ONE 167 in June, securing a first-round submission victory over Blake Cooper.
If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch both the ONE Fight Night 23 and ONE 167 replays on demand via Amazon Prime Video.
