Tye Ruotolo focused on staying agile while bulking up for Reinier de Ridder

Tye Ruotolo is attempting to bulk up while maintaining the agility that has led him to back-to-back submission victories inside the circle.

On May 5, the 20-year-old BJJ sensation will return to action as part of ONE Championship’s stacked ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video card. Ruotolo will move up from lightweight to middleweight for a submission grappling showcase against reigning ONE middleweight world champion, Reinier de Ridder.

Before stepping inside the circle with ‘The Dutch Knight’ at the 1stBank Center in Colorado, Ruotolo is hard at work adding muscle without hindering his ability to move around quickly and easily:

“I’m trying to keep it clean... That’s the plan. So I’ve been trying to keep the balance. It’s a hard process trying to gain weight but still stay agile, but I feel like it’s happening.”

Signing with ONE in 2022, Tye Ruotolo has been nothing short of impressive, earning back-to-back victories against ‘The Lion Killer’ Garry Tonon and former ONE featherweight world champion Marat Gafurov. He’ll look to make it three in a row against a determined Reinier de Ridder.

‘The Dutch Knight’ goes into his first 2023 appearance determined to right the wrongs of his past after suffering his first career setback at the hands of two-division ONE world champion Anatoly ‘Sladkiy’ Malykhin in December.

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Reinier de Ridder says loss to Anatoly Malykhin doesn’t really matter

At ONE on Prime Video 5, Reinier de Ridder was set to defend his ONE light heavyweight championship and collect his 17th career win. Instead, ‘The Dutch Knight’ was sent home early after succumbing to the immense power of the Russian juggernaut, Anatoly Malykhin. ‘Sladkiy’ scored a first-round knockout of De Ridder, but according to the Dutchman, taking his first loss really doesn’t matter all that much in the end:

“Look, the kids are good. Everything at home is all right. This is all extra, right? I do everything to be the best. I do everything to win the fight, but it’s not that important, to be honest. If the kids are healthy and the kids are happy then who cares [about losing]?”

Nevertheless, Reinier de Ridder will be looking to reestablish himself as one of the best in the world and it all starts with his submission grappling showdown against Tye Ruotolo.

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