"I've been watching him since I was a yellow belt" - Jozef Chen admits he's a big admirer of Tye Ruotolo

Jozef Chen is excited to step into the spotlight at ONE Fight Night 23 as he makes his ONE Championship debut.

The very highly touted grappler is still in the early stages of his career at just 19 years old but there's a reason that he's been identified as one to watch.

July 5 is also a big moment for the South African because of the opponent that he will be facing at Lumpinee Stadium.

Tye Ruotolo is one of the very best in the world and as a result, it's no surprise to hear that Chen is a big fan of what he has accomplished.

Despite there only being a two-year age gap between the two competitors, Tye has been competing on a global stage for such a long time and is now the reigning ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion.

As a result, Chen revealed in a recent interview with ONE Championship that he has been watching him and admiring him from a far for a very long time:

"It's very awesome to be able to compete against someone that you looked up to for so long."

He continued, reflecting on just how long he has been watching Tye and his brother Kade do their thing at the elite level:

"So, especially for me, outside of how good he is and the level that he's on, I think one of the things that makes it exciting for me is that I've been watching him for, man, since I was a yellow, orange belt."

Jozef Chen is ready for his idols to become rivals

Competing against Tye Ruotolo on a platform like ONE Championship is obviously a big step for Jozef Chen to take.

That being said, anyone who has ever made it to the elite level needed to make that step at some stage in their career.

He will now compete against an opponent that he has been watching for a long time in what is sure to be a defining moment in his young career.

ONE Fight Night 23 will air live and free in US prime time for North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.