Tye Ruotolo thinks highly of Reinier de Ridder

At ONE Fight Night 10, Tye Ruotolo will step back inside the circle as one of the top submission grapplers on the planet.

ONE Championship’s continued progression into submission grappling has been paralleled by the growth of the Ruotolo twins, with Tye’s brother Kade being the holder of the ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship.

On May 5, Tye will face a very unique challenge as he takes on one of the best grapplers that the MMA world can offer, current ONE middleweight world champion Reinier de Ridder.

Through his 16 professional wins on his record, ‘The Dutch Knight’ has racked up 12 of them by submission victory. That undefeated run helped him become a simultaneous two-division world champion.

In his last appearance inside the circle at ONE on Prime Video 5 in December, de Ridder tasted defeat for the first time, losing his light heavyweight world championship in the process.

Next time out at the 1stBank Center in Colorado, de Ridder will test his grappling skills against one of the best competitors in the world who is used to grappling with larger opponents and letting his skills do the talking.

In a recent interview with The MMA Superfan, Tye Ruotolo spoke about the credibility of his next opponent:

“He’s a super decorated MMA fighter and a double champ. I got a lot of respect for his MMA [skills] and even his jiu-jitsu.”

Watch the full interview below:

Tye will take on Reinier de Ridder at ONE Fight Night 10 on May 5. The entire event will air live and for free via Prime Video for North American viewers.