“You have to respect what he’s doing – Tye Ruotolo still holds Gordon Ryan in high regard despite animosity

Tye Ruotolo won’t become friends with Gordon Ryan anytime soon, but he still holds a high level of respect for arguably one of the best grapplers in the world today.

The reigning ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion recently hopped on The Fighter and the Kid podcast alongside his twin Kade Ruotolo.

While the pair discussed plenty of interesting tidbits about their impressive careers so far, it was Tye Ruotolo’s kind words for Ryan that perhaps stood out the most. The pair of ADCC alumni, after all, engaged in a spicy back-and-forth online not too long ago.

While Ruotolo is still not a fan of Ryan’s brazen nature, he still acknowledges him as one of his dream opponents to match-up with, considering his status as the elite of the elite.

The 20-year-old BJJ prodigy said:

“Gordon Ryan's still on the list for sure, you know? He for sure knows it. And that's what even a lot of our drama came through. He's good at like, creating it, you know? Talking about numbers and that kind of stuff.”

While Ruotolo and Ryan certainly don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, the former still praised his rival for putting in the hard work to reach the pinnacle of the sport:

“At the end of the day, you have to respect what he's doing in the time that he's putting into his craft, you know? 100 percent. Especially in a world like this.”

Watch the full interview:

---

Tye Ruotolo will be in Kade’s corner when he defends his title against Tommy Langaker

While he’s still eagerly awaiting his first challenger, Tye Ruotolo will once again shift to a supporting role as he gets his twin ready for his own title defense.

Kade Ruotolo will run it back with Tommy Langaker at ONE 165 in Tokyo, Japan on January 26, with the victor leaving Ariake Arena as the undisputed ONE lightweight submission grappling kingpin.