Tye Ruotolo "putting on some muscle" ahead of grappling match with Reinier de Ridder

Tye Ruotolo is putting on some muscle ahead of his return to the circle.

On May 5, the 20-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) sensation will look to earn his third straight victory under the ONE Championship banner, but that will be no easy task as he meets reigning ONE middleweight world champion Reinier de Ridder in a submission grappling showcase.

Typically competing at lightweight, Tye Ruotolo revealed that he has been doing some lifting and staying active while putting on some extra muscle to compete with his larger opponent.

In a recent interview with The MMA Superfan, Ruotolo said:

“It’s mainly just training super hard and lifting a little bit of weights now fighting these big guys, so I got to start putting on some muscle. And then all the same stuff we always do like surfing and staying active. So it’s been a good camp so far, the body feels great.”

Ruotolo will go into the contest undefeated inside the circle. Making his promotional debut last summer, he scored a jaw-dropping submission victory over one-time ONE world title challenger Garry Tonon.

Ruotolo only needed 82 seconds to make ‘The Lion Killer’ tap out. Just as impressive was his sophomore performance. In December, Ruotolo returned and scored a second-straight submission over former ONE world champion Marat Gafurov.

Watch the full interview below:

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Reinier de Ridder looks to right the wrongs of his past starting with Tye Ruotolo

Reinier de Ridder is determined to get back on the winning path after suffering his first setback inside the circle.

‘The Dutch Knight’ walked into his ONE on Prime Video 5 main event with two ONE world championships wrapped around his waist. When it was all said and done, only one title remained. De Ridder was handed his first career loss at the hands of Russian juggernaut Anatoly Malykhin.

It was an especially brutal loss for de Ridder as he was unable to make it out of the first round before succumbing to the earth-shattering power of Malykhin.

Reinier de Ridder is determined to make things right as he returns to the circle at ONE Fight Night 10 and plans on using Tye Ruotolo as the first stepping stone back to the top of the ONE Championship food chain:

“I need to set this straight, I need to prove to myself that I’m the best. I need to fix what has gone wrong.”

Amazon Prime Video subscribers can catch all the action from ONE Fight Night 10 live and for free in U.S. primetime on May 5.