“We'd go surf” – Tye Ruotolo shares how parents kept them from getting burned out from BJJ training 

ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo recently sat down with Brendan Schaub and Brian Callen on The Fighter and the Kid podcast to talk about the trajectory of his career.

Tye Ruotolo, who will make his first defense of his belt against Izaak Michell at ONE 166 in Qatar, is one of the most exciting and dynamic grapplers active today.

Together with his twin brother, ONE lightweight submission grappling king Kade Ruotolo, Tye has been intensely training in jiu-jitsu since he was six. The pair started out once they were potty-trained at three years old.

When asked what he and his brother do when they get burned out from training in BJJ day in and day out, Ruotolo said:

“Our parents are always so good with us. They worked us super hard. We were training a lot but anytime that we got burned out we'd go surf or go to Costa Rica. I feel like as a family we'd go to Costa Rica for a month once a year.”

If there's any non-combat sport that can directly complement jiu-jitsu, it's surfing.

Being that grappling is largely a game of balance and risk assessment, surfing poses the same challenges as one would deal with an opponent trying to topple you and smash you.

The ocean, perhaps, is the most formidable grappler one could combat. Kade and Tye Ruotolo's parents understood the assignment.

Watch the full podcast here:

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Tye Ruotolo to defend his belt for the first time at ONE 166 versus Aussie star Izaak Michell

ONE Championship is pulling out all the stops when it comes to its inaugural live event in the country of Qatar in the Middle East.

The promotion didn't stutter when it said it would have not one - not two, not three, not four - but five world title fights on the card.

One of the high-profile world title bouts will be Tye Ruotolo versus Izaak Michell for the ONE welterweight submission grappling world title.

From 2022 to 2023, Ruotolo has blasted through numerous world champions and former world champions in ONE Championship to reach the top of his division.

As for Michell, the Aussie grappling standout is a former IBJJF Worlds gold medalist in No-Gi brown belt. He also won the gold medal at the 2022 ADCC Asia and Oceania Trials while also snagging the coveted ADCC Match of the Tournament in the same year.

With those credentials considered, we can bet that this match will make our hearts stop more than a few times.