Tye Ruotolo puzzled by Magomed Abdulkadirov’s insane toughness at ONE Fight Night 16: “He’s got some gnarly neck muscles”

Tye Ruotolo, much like any Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist of his caliber, is used to seeing their opponents submit once they’re locked in a submission hold.

Magomed Abdulkadirov, though, displayed an intense tenacity that left the young grappler perplexed.

Ruotolo had more than a couple of instances where he looked to have locked in a submission finish, but Abdulkadirov managed to weather it out.

Despite not securing the finish that he wanted, Ruotolo took the unanimous decision win and became the inaugural ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 16.

Following his win, the newly minted world champion gave Abdulkadirov massive respect for surviving until the final bell.

Ruotolo said in an interview with ONE Championship:

“You know, he’s very resilient, for sure. He’s very tough, and he’s definitely got some gnarly neck muscles. And I hope his arm’s okay because that armbar was super tight. He’s just very resilient.”

Things started slowly between the two, with Ruotolo and Abdulkadirov taking to hand fighting in hopes of bringing the match to the canvas.

Ruotolo, with a little over three minutes elapsed, finally managed to drag the fight to the canvas, and it wasn’t long before he got into positions to lock in his signature holds.

The 20-year-old first slapped a tight heel hook that Abdulkadirov managed to wriggle out of. Ruotolo then locked in an armbar, which fans at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium were already gasping for air with.

Although Ruotolo tried his best to crank at Abdulkadirov, the Russian grappler held on and was able to see the end of the fight.