Tye Ruotolo says Magomed Abdulkadirov was hesitant to pull the trigger: “He was defensive”

Tye Ruotolo - Photo by ONE Championship
Tye Ruotolo - Photo by ONE Championship

Newly crowned ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo promised himself he would try his best to make every grappling match he competes in an exciting one. However, the American BJJ phenom says that’s a little difficult when his opponent is unwilling to scrap.

Ruotolo met dangerous Dagestani grappler Magomed Abdulkadirov for the inaugural ONE welterweight submission grappling world title last weekend. The two locked horns in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade on Prime Video, which took place from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, November 4th.

The 20-year-old superstar took home a clear-cut unanimous decision for his efforts, as well as the 26-pound golden belt. But he was hardly satisfied with his performance.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post in a recent post-fight interview, Ruotolo said Abdulkadirov was overly defensive, which prevented him from getting a finish.

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Ruotolo stated:

“I'll feel stoked, no matter what, you know. I tried my hardest and it's hard when your opponent doesn't come at you. You know, my opponent, I had a feeling he was going to be kind of defensive and all the respect to Magomed, but that's kind of what happened. He was defensive.”

With the victory, Tye joins an elite club as ONE submission grappling world champion, which includes Mikey Musumeci, Danielle Kelly, and his twin brother Kade, who is the reigning and undisputed ONE lightweight submission grappling king.

Ruotolo says he is willing to take on all-comers for his first world title defense, but also that he and his brother are interested in making a transition to the sport of mixed martial arts.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action of ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade absolutely free via replay on-demand with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

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Edited by C. Naik
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