“I wanted to smash him” - Tye Ruotolo looks back on recent triumph over teenage sensation Jozef Chen

Reigning and undisputed ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo of the United States enivisioned his match against South African teenage sensation Jozef Chen going a completely different direction.

In his mind, Ruotolo believed he would take Chen down and submit him inside the 10-minute regulated time limit.

Unfortunately, his opponent proved much tougher than he thought, and Ruotolo was only able to get away with a unanimous decision on the scorecards at ONE Fight Night 23 on Prime Video at Lumpinee Stadium.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post in a recent interview, Ruotolo expressed his disappointment in not being able to 'smash' Chen like he usually does with his opponents.

The 21-year-old BJJ black belt said:

"Honestly, pretty disappointed in my performance, you know, to be completely real, you know. I wanted to smash him and submit him, you know, every time, especially when I step in Lumpinee."

Ruotolo joined ONE Championship in May 2022, and now has seven wins in the world's largest martial arts organization. This includes four wins by submission.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch a replay of ONE Fight Night 23 absolutely free and on-demand via Amazon Prime Video.

What's next for Tye Ruotolo after ONE Fight Night 23 victory?

Tye Ruotolo has an appearance at Craig Jones Invitational coming up, but after that, the 21-year-old wants to finally make his professional mixed martial arts debut.

The American phenom says he has become really confident in his striking and can't wait to showcase his skills to the world.

He told South China Morning Post:

"It doesn't really matter to me. It'll be my first MMA fight, you know, my first debut. So maybe not the toughest guy, you know. Maybe I pull the taxi driver or something, you know. But it really doesn't matter to me, you know. I know that my hands are great, you know and I know that my jiu-jitsu is even better."