Tye Ruotolo has just made some pretty bold claims, as he thinks he’s the pound for pound best grappler on the planet. He was asked the question during the post-match press conference after his victorious appearance at ONE Fight Night 13 where he submitted Dagi Arslanaliev. Ruotolo is still young but has already put on a series of impressive performances under various different rulesets and his career for ONE Championship has so far been perfect. Ruotolo is definitely one of the most successful competitors of his generation at the very least as he’s an ADCC absolute division bronze medalist and has broken the record as the youngest IBJJF world champion ever.
Tye Ruotolo was asked by a member of the media at the post-match press conference if he thought that he was the best pound for pound grappler and he was clear in his answer:
“In the most humble way possible, sure. I don’t think there’s anyone around my size that can beat me, and I think that I can beat guys who are way bigger than me. So, pound-for-pound, 100%. Gordon (Ryan) is going to have to say something about that, but he took a bunch of steroids to be at where he’s at, you know? So I’m going to stay busy, keep fighting everyone, stay active.”
Ruotolo was also asked about the plans that he and his brother Kade have for MMA in the future. He doesn’t think fans will have to wait long to see Kade Ruotolo take on that challenge, but it’ll still be some time before he makes the transition:
“I see my brother making his debut by the end of the year. He’s got so much fire in his heart for MMA. I can see it. So, for sure he’s gonna do it this year and for myself, I’m gonna wait a little bit longer.”
Both brothers have been stepping up their training lately in anticipation of their MMA debut, including taking extra Muay Thai sessions at the Superbon training camp. Tye Ruotolo explained the reason he isn’t making his MMA debut at the same time as his brother, and it is directly related to his desire to prove himself as the best grappler on the planet:
“You know, I wanna keep proving myself in Jiu-Jitsu. Cementing myself as, you know, the best around in my weight or even just around my weight, pound-for-pound. And then once I cement that, I’ll make my way over to MMA and make my debut.”
The post-match interview with Tye Ruotolo where he claims that he’s the best pound for pound grappler on the planet was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of Sherdog:
