Tye Ruotolo returned with another victory when welcomed young prodigy Jozef Chen to ONE Championship in their single-round catchweight submission grappling match.
At ONE Fight Night 23, the ONE welterweight submission grappling king snatched a decision over the 19-year-old newcomer, although he thought that this performance wasn't his best so far.
Nonetheless, the reigning king has already set eyes on another goal: joining in with ONE Championship's return to US soil at ONE 169: Atlanta on Nov. 8.
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Speaking at the post-fight interview of ONE Fight Night 23 in Bangkok, Thailand, Ruotolo said he plans to take another fight back home in the United States.
"Yeah, I can't wait to be able to compete back home, for sure. It would be such a great opportunity. I know the Atlanta card, there are already some epic matches on there. So if I could get on that card, that would be amazing."
He added:
"But yeah, I'm super grateful to have my health, and I'm grateful for that. I don't know what the year looks like in the future, but I'm sure there's going to be a lot of big events and I'm excited to get into [them]."
Although it is still unconfirmed, it would be very interesting to see how he would showcase another thrilling performance with his trademark aggression and submission attempts in his upcoming match.
Tye Ruotolo hints at potential MMA debut in near future
The reigning ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo feels confident that he will be able to make a transition like his twin brother Kade into MMA soon.
Last month, Kade made his pro-MMA debut with a submission victory over fellow American Blake Cooper in the first round of their match at ONE 167 on Prime Video.
Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA recently, Tye explained his idea to follow suit with a pro-MMA debut in ONE Championship in the near future, hinting that he has developed good striking acumen in his regiment.
The 27-year-old BJJ black belt said:
"I’m not going to talk up my standup, you know, until I get in the ring, but yeah, my plan's always the same - take down, pass, submit. But, you know, I got a feeling when I get in there I'm going to want to throw some punches for sure."
See the full interview below: