Tye Ruotolo

After ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo’s family relocated to California, his father enrolled him and his twin brother, Kade Ruotolo, into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes. Ruotolo quickly established himself as a skilled athlete in the local scene, eventually earning his black belt.​

Ruotolo’s professional grappling career began to soar in 2019, when he competed as a 16-year-old blue belt in the ADCC World Championship and placed fourth. His remarkable performance at the event earned him the distinction of being the youngest athlete ever to make it to the semifinals. ​

​Since then, he has made a name for himself as one of the greatest pound-for-pound competitors in the jiu-jitsu world and has consistently proven his mettle against the toughest challengers. His shocking win against American grappling legend Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon in his ONE Championship debut was a major statement of his potential in the world’s largest martial arts organization. ​

Ruotolo earned three more victories to continue his unbeaten run on the global stage before making the biggest statement of all, winning the inaugural ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Title against Russia’s Magomed Abdulkadirov in November 2023.

After defending his belt a few times, he followed in his twin brother’s footsteps into the MMA world in late 2025. Ruotolo proved to be a natural, submitting both of his undefeated opponents, Adrian Lee and Shozo Isojima, to mark himself as a future MMA World Title challenger.