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Current undisputed ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo is expecting his upcoming opponent, Izaak Michell, to be super aggressive and come right out of the gates when the opening bell sounds for their championship match on April 5.
Ruotolo and Michell are going to go head-to-head in front of the sold-out crowd as the card's co-main event feature inside the revered Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Ahead of their matchup, Tye Ruotolo caught up with ONE Championship for an interview and predicted how their match would go, especially the approach that the 25-year-old Aussie would employ.
The Atos representative said:
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"I think it's gonna be a war the first couple of minutes. I think he's gonna come forward and I think he's gonna use his physicality a lot. One hundred percent it's gonna make me mad. So I'm really excited."
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Ruotolo is currently riding a five-fight win streak in the world's largest martial arts organization since making his promotional debut in 2022.
He has since swept all of his assignments to remain undefeated and become the first ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion. Tye's latest victim was Magomed Abdulkadirov, whom he outpointed in November 2023 at ONE Fight Night 16.
Tye Ruotolo wants to defend his 26-pound golden belt before inevitable transition to MMA
Tye Ruotolo is not only looking to fend off the tough challenge from Michell, but he also wants to remain the king of the division before he potentially makes his highly anticipated debut in MMA.
The 21-year-old American star has picked up valuable, striking lessons from Superbon's camp at Superbon Training Center in hopes of using them in the foreseeable future. Tye is being constantly pushed by fans and fellow professional fighters to finally compete in an MMA match.
ONE Fight Night 21 will air live in U.S. primetime, free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America.
