Tye Ruotolo Urges ONE Championship to Create a New Submission Grappling Weight Class

ParallelDesk 12:40:12 PM, 27 April 2023

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As ONE Championship prepares for its upcoming events, grappling standout Tye Ruotolo shared his thoughts on the promotion's submission grappling weight classes. The 20-year-old expressed his desire for ONE Championship to introduce another weight class for bigger fighters during a recent interview with The MMA Superfan. Ruotolo is set to return to the ONE circle on May 5 for a submission superfight against reigning ONE middleweight world champion, Reinier de Ridder. With his impending move up to middleweight for the matchup, Ruotolo acknowledged the potential disadvantage of size. However, he believes that by avoiding a significant weight cut, he can bring an improved gas tank to the fight. Sharing his thoughts on potentially adding a higher weight class for submission grappling, Ruotolo said, “There’s a lot of good guys around the 190 to 200-pound weight class. Creating one for that would be convenient for me. I don’t like cutting weight too much.” Ruotolo's twin brother Kade Ruotolo is also set to defend his ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship against veteran Tommy Langaker on June 9 at ONE Fight Night 11. The bout will take place at the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok. Meanwhile, Reinier de Ridder is determined to get back in the win column after suffering a first-round knockout at the hands of Anatoly Malykhin in December. Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can watch ONE Fight Night 10 live and for free on May 5 during U.S. primetime. As the MMA world eagerly anticipates the upcoming events, fans and fighters alike will continue to share their thoughts and speculations on the future of submission grappling weight classes under the ONE Championship banner.