"It's been a lifelong journey of hard work" - Tye Ruotolo reflects on his massive accomplishments at a young age

Reigning ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo will defend his belt for the first time at ONE Fight Night 21 on April 5. Challenging him for the belt will be Australian star Izaak Michell, who will be making his ONE Championship debut.

At just 21 years old, Tye Ruotolo has achieved more accomplishments than most athletes would in their entire careers. Aside from being the inaugural ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion, the young prodigy is also the youngest International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) world champion.

This is on top of the countless medals and titles he and his twin, fellow ONE world champion Kade Ruotolo, have been winning since they were three.

On his remarkable achievements at such a young age, Ruotolo told the South China Morning Post on YouTube:

“Yeah, I’m super happy with where I’m at. It’s just been a lifelong [journey] of hard work and dedication, you know, having the right people around me. That’s what has been able for me to be where I’m at right now.”

Watch the full interview here:

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Tye Ruotolo finds Izaak Michell's style of grappling "intriguing"

Interestingly, Tye Ruotolo finds the style of his upcoming opponent, Izaak Michell, quite intriguing. Chiefly because he finds it highly similar to his offense-based grappling game. The Aussie grappler likes to aggressively hunt for submissions, one after another.

He told South China Morning Post:

“He [Michell] is, for sure. His style of jiu-jitsu intrigues me. Number one, I know he likes to fight hard and he’s very aggressive, you know, which is good because I like when people are aggressive towards me. It definitely brings a bigger and deeper beast out of me.”

This should be an exciting bout to witness. ONE Fight Night 21 will air live in US primetime, free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America.