ONE Fight Night 21: Tye Ruotolo set to defend welterweight submission grappling crown vs. Izaak Michell on April 5

Tye Ruotolo’s first assignment as the ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion has now been confirmed for ONE Fight Night 21 on April 5.

The Atos representative puts his gold on the line against Australian Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Izaak Michell in a 10-minute war inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Ruotolo has been on an absolute tear since joining the world’s largest martial arts organization, living up to his promise of taking the sport to uncharted territory every time he displays his craft on the global stage.

The 21-year-old opened his account with exquisite submissions over world-renowned grappling wizards Garry Tonon and Marat Gafurov.

Then, he followed up with another set of wins over Reinier de Ridder and Dagi Arslanaliev to earn a shot at the inaugural welterweight gold against Magomed Abdulkadirov at ONE Fight Night 16 in November last year.

What was supposed to be his toughest test turned out to be another regular day in the office for the talented American phenom, as he took a unanimous decision over the Russian tank to obtain world championship status in ONE.

Alongside a pristine 5-0 slate, Tye Ruotolo has scooped four performance bonuses for his action-only grappling style, and he will potentially have eyes on another US$50,000 reward when he crosses paths with Michell.

---

Tye Ruotolo cannot overlook Michell’s ability on the canvas at ONE Fight Night 21

Though he’ll fancy his chances at ONE Fight Night 21 on April 5, Tye Ruotolo cannot take anything for granted against a proven grappling jock of Izaak Michell’s caliber.

The 21-year-old’s hard-pressing submission game will be put under the light against the Adelaide native, who brings a well-versed game on the mats.

In 2022, the Australian athlete picked up the gold medal at the IBJJF world no-gi championship at brown belt to go with his ADCC Asia & Oceania qualifiers win, and a top-of-the-podium finish at the 2022 Who’s Next Tournament.

Under the tutelage of Leo Arruda, John Danaher, and Craig Jones, Michell has upgraded his arsenal at a rapid pace, and he’s raring to let it show against Andre Galvao’s star protege, Tye Ruotolo.

North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE Fight Night 21 card live and for free in U.S. primetime on Friday, April 5.