‘Submission hunter’ Tye Ruotolo says he will finish Reinier de Ridder any way he can

Tye Ruotolo plans on scoring a submission against Reinier de Ridder by any means necessary.

The two Brazilian jiu-jitsu superstars will square off inside the circle when ONE Championship invades the 1stBank Center in Colorado for ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video. The highly anticipated card will feature a submission grappling ONE world championship bout as reigning flyweight titleholder Mikey Musuemci defends his title against Yemen’s Osamah Almarwai.

Before ‘Darth Rigatoni’ puts his 26 pounds of ONE gold on the line, fans will be treated to a submission grappling showcase featuring 20-year-old BJJ prodigy Tye Ruotolo and current ONE middleweight world champion Reinier de Ridder.

Before stepping into the circle with ‘The Dutch Knight’ on May 5, Tye Ruotolo discussed his fairly straightforward game plan going into the submission showdown:

“I’ll take anything though. I’m a submission hunter. Whatever comes my way I’ll take first... I'm not going to pass it up. He’s a tough guy, so I’m not going to be choosy out here.”

Ruotolo will look to keep his 100% finish rate intact, but that will be no easy task against a competitor as dangerous as Reinier de Ridder. ‘The Dutch Knight’ will be making just his second appearance in the world of submission grappling under the ONE banner, but De Ridder has earned himself a 71% finish rate in MMA bouts with four impressive victories by way of submission.

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Tye Ruotolo relishes opportunity to compete against bigger opponents like Reinier de Ridder

Typically competing at lightweight, Tye Ruotolo loves the challenge of taking on larger opponents. He’ll get exactly that when he meets ‘The Dutch Knight’ at ONE Fight Night 10 next month. Their contest will be competed at middleweight, a step up from Ruotolo’s traditional weight class where Reinier de Ridder regularly competes.

Continuing his conversation with the promotion, Ruotolo revealed that he enjoys the challenge of taking on bigger opponents, even more so than taking on individuals in his own weight class:

“I think all it comes down to is it’s a lot of excitement for me. I like the challenge [especially] when people think I can’t do [it]. I always work toward something that’s not impossible but really difficult. I feel like in my division, I don’t get that same excitement. I don’t feel like I’m challenged the same way that I am with these bigger guys. So that’s why I love fighting against all the big guys.”

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch ONE Fight Night 10 live and for free in U.S. primetime on May 5.