Tye Ruotolo’s 97-second D’Arce choke of Garry Tonon tops ONE’s 2022 grappling submission of the year

We’ve seen plenty of amazing submissions inside the ONE Championship circle in 2022, but Tye Ruotolo arguably had the most impressive of them all.

The 19-year-old submission grappling phenom was awarded ONE’s 2022 Submission Grappling Submission of the Year for his astounding 97-second D’Arce choke finish of veteran Garry Tonon at ONE 157 back in May. Ruotolo edged out the likes of Rodrigo Marello, Mikey Musumeci, Bianca Basilio, and even his twin brother Kade, who were all finalists for the award.

After blazing their own trail in the jiu-jitsu scene, the Ruotolos entered the largest martial arts organization with a ton of hype behind them. Both were challenged right away in their debuts, as Kade drew Japanese martial arts legend Shinya Aoki while Tye tangled with Tonon.

Unfazed by ‘The Lion Killer’s intimidating resume, Ruotolo fearlessly launched his overwhelming offensive style early on and dictated the pace with heavy collar ties. Tonon carried a nonchalant demeanor throughout the match, which proved to be his grave mistake. The Atos representative kept the pressure on and eventually put his fellow American on his back.

It didn’t take long for Ruotolo to penetrate Tonon’s guard, as he performed a sweet pass and went straight to the north-south position. Once he got Tonon in an unfavorable position, he did not need a second invitation and performed the Ruotolo siblings’ favorite submission.

After connecting his right arm to his left bicep, Tye Ruotolo squeezed like no tomorrow and brushed off Tonon’s attempt to defend the choke. The No.2-ranked ONE featherweight contended wisely tried to keep his legs away to create some wiggle room. Tye Ruotolo, however, was one step ahead of him and clamped on his right leg, forcing the tap in less than two minutes into their match.

Rewatch Tye Ruotolo’s sensational finish below:

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Kade Ruotolo wins end of the year award like Tye Ruotolo

Tye is not the only member of the Ruotolo household to be recognized by ONE Championship in 2022.

His sibling Kade, who became the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion, was deservingly named the ONE Submission Grappling Athlete of the Year.

After his impressive debut against Aoki, Ruotolo faced multi-time Sambo world champion Uali Kurzhev for the prestigious gold strap. The American grappling sensation imposed his will early on and made quick work of the Russian by brilliantly locking a vicious heel hook to win the belt. He also successfully defended his throne last month by besting gutsy challenger Mattheus Gabriel in a technical 10-minute grappling war.