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ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo believes fans will witness a more refined version of himself and Dante Leon when they renew their rivalry on May 2.
Live in American primetime from the hallowed grounds of the Lumpinee Stadium, Ruotolo puts his 26 pounds of gold on the line against the Canadian grappling specialist.
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Ahead of their single-round 10-minute matchup at ONE Fight Night 31 in Bangkok, Thailand, the Atos representative reflected on how both he and his opposite number have developed since their last meeting in September 2021.
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"Even with Dante, it's hard to change a bunch as a grappler, you know? I know I'm more well-rounded than I was back then, a little bit. My guard's a bit better for sure. I'm sure he's made the same changes, even the ankle locks have been coming back in style," Tye Ruotolo told ONE Championship.
While he expects an intriguing chess match inside the Mecca of Muay Thai, make no mistake, the 22-year-old is fully committed to coming out with a win and staying perfect in the promotion.
Ruotolo has soared to new heights in the promotion off a dazzling seven-fight win streak against Garry Tonon, Marat Gafurov, Reinier de Ridder, Dagi Arslanaliev, Magomed Abdulkadirov, Izaak Michell, and Jozef Chen.
And he doesn't plan on giving up that spotless promotional run anytime soon.
Tye Ruotolo downplays the impact of Dante Leon trilogy but promises fireworks
Though history and with championship gold on the line add more stakes to their upcoming meet, Tye Ruotolo revealed in the same interview with the promotion that he's treating this fight just as any other battle.
That, however, does not mean he will bring anything less than fireworks.
"I don't know necessarily how important it'll be. It's gonna be exciting. That's all I care about," he continued.
ONE Fight Night 31 will be available to active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada, live in U.S. primetime for free on May 2.
