Tye Ruotolo says MMA transition likely ‘when the dust settles’ in submission grappling

20-year-old Submission grappling phenom Tye Ruotolo is on the verge of becoming a ONE world champion, but he can’t seem to shake off the inevitable idea of a transition to the sport of mixed martial arts.

Tye and his twin brother Kade have talked about transitioning to MMA since they joined ONE Championship in 2022, and the Atos representative believes it’s only a matter of time before the brothers don the 4-ounce gloves.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post in a recent interview, Ruotolo said MMA is still very much in his mind, but that he wants to achieve what he set out to do in grappling first before he enters the mixed martial arts cage.

The 20-year-old American superstar said:

“When the dust settles and you know and I’m ready to make the change I’ll make the change.”

With all this being said, Ruotolo’s eventual MMA debut will have to take a back seat for the moment.

Following his submission victory over no.2-ranked lightweight MMA fighter Dagi Arslanaliev at ONE Fight Night 13, Ruotolo was awarded not only a $50,000 performance bonus for his efforts, but also a shot at the inaugural ONE welterweight submission grappling world title. That fight is expected to happen later this year, with an opponent to be determined shortly.

ONE Fight Night 13: Allazov vs. Grigorian on Prime Video took place at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok. Fans in the United States and Canada can catch a replay of all the action absolutely free on Amazon Prime Video.