Chatri Sityodtong recently announced two huge submission grappling matches for May 20.
The ONE Championship CEO has signed ADCC champions the Ruotolo brothers, Tye and Kade, to contracts. They will take on submission aces Garry Tonon and Shinya Aoki in what are expected to be two high octane and exciting matches.
Sityodtong has always tried to showcase true mixed martial arts inside the ONE Championship circle. With the latest move, he is trying to shine a light on one of the most forgotten arts in combat sports and give these jiu-jitsu practitioners the chance to tell their stories and make a ton of money while they are at it.
Announcing the matches on Facebook, Sityodtong wrote:
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"BREAKING NEWS: BOOM!!! On May 20, the world will once again witness real jiu-jitsu at the highest levels on the planet in ONE. The rules are simple. 1 round. 12 minutes. No Points. Submission Only. Yellow Cards for stalling. If a match ends without a submission, the athlete with the most number of real submission attempts wins."
At ONE X, Sityodtong pitted elite competition against one another in grappling matches. At the event, we saw two-division champion Reinier de Ridder take on Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Andre Galvao. This was an exciting, back-and-forth match that ultimately ended in a draw. Ridder was mainly on the defensive throughout the match but was able to avoid getting subbed by the BJJ black belt.
Danielle Kelly also battled it out with Mei Yamaguchi. Both are well-versed in combat sports, which made for a closely-contested match. This too ended in a draw, but Kelly was rewarded with a bonus for her work during the match.
The Ruotolo twins make their ONE Championship grappling debut
The Ruotolo brothers have been waking waves on the Brazilian jiu-jitsu scene. They are elite grapplers who have been training and competing against the best in the world for some time now.
They'll both get their chance to make a good first impression in their new home on May 20 against the best competition ONE Championship has to offer.
Tye Ruotolo will take on grappling ace and former ONE Championship featherweight title challenger Garry Tonon. Tonon most recently fought Thanh Le for the featherweight championship. He lost the contest in brutal fashion in the very first round.
Meanwhile, Kade Ruotolo will face the tough Shinya Aoki for his debut. Aoki is a 57-fight MMA veteran who boasts 31 wins via submission on his record.