Tye Ruotolo says twin brother Kade Ruotolo will transition to MMA by end of year

Submission grappling superstars Tye Ruotolo and his twin brother Kade Ruotolo have long been vocal about their aspirations to transition to mixed martial arts in the near future.

By the looks of it, it seems the reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion will be the first one to take the plunge.

After beating Reinier de Ridder in a hard-fought 10-minute grappling war at ONE Fight Night 10 last weekend, Tye Ruotolo spilled his brother’s plans to make his MMA debut before 2023 ends.

He shared during the ONE Fight Night 10 post-fight press conference:

“I think my brother is going to transition before me, for sure. He wants to fight everyday, so I think he’ll definitely make the transition by the end of the year.”

Touted as child prodigies after storming the BJJ scene when they were just kids, we know Tye and Kade Ruotolo will have the grappling part of MMA covered just from their impressive resumes alone.

The Ruotolos, who come from the famed Atos stable, have been teasing their inevitable move to MMA through some of their striking training videos posted online.

In an earlier interview with The MMA Superfan, Tye said Kade has always had an 'inner fire' in him, which should suit him well in mixed martial arts.

But before Kade Ruotolo puts on the 4 oz. gloves, he must take care of business at ONE Fight Night 11 next month. The 20-year-old will be defending his 26 pounds of solid gold against formidable challenger Tommy Langaker in an all-grappling fest.

As for Tye Ruotolo, he still has some names to cross off his list in grappling before trying his hand at MMA.

ONE Fight Night 11 will air live on US Primetime on June 10 and broadcast free for Prime Video subscribers in North America. The replay of Tye Ruotolo’s match with Reinier de Ridder at ONE Fight Night 10 is also available to stream for free on the same platform.