Tye Ruotolo won his first IBJJF World Championship in an unusual way last year, as he actually lost to Mica Galvao in the final but was awarded the title months after the event took place. Not only was this a special victory because it was Ruotolo’s first IBJJF world championship win at black belt, but it was also unique because he set the record as the youngest champion in the history of the sport. In fact both him and Galvao were able to break that record with a win at the tournament, so the title itself wasn’t the only thing that changed hands months after the tournament.
Both Tye Ruotolo and Mica Galvao put on great displays of elite Jiu-Jitsu as they were fighting their way into the final of the IBJJF World Championship, and the match was looking to be too close to call. After ten minutes of intense action, Galvao was able to score the only points of the match and he won 2-0 to take home the title. He broke the record as the youngest champion in IBJJF history and everything seemed great, until several months after the event. Galvao tested positive for Clomiphene during an in-competition drug test, was stripped of his title, and suspended for one year. This meant that the title reverted to the silver medallist, Tye Ruotolo, and he then became the one to set the record as the youngest champion.
Both of the Ruotolo brothers recently participated in an AMA (Ask me anything) on Reddit and Tye was asked how he felt about winning the title due to the man who beat him being disqualified:
“It’s not the way I want to win a world title. Still doesn’t feel like I did. It is a bit of a hell weird feeling because I’ve known he’s been juicing for awhile but he also does a lot of good for the sport. We want to show how it’s possible without steroids.”
That wasn’t the only topic that came up of course, and both of the Ruotolo brothers were asked dozens of questions by fans. Alongside this, one of the biggest revelations to come from the AMA was the fact that both Kade and Tye Ruotolo are intending to make their professional MMA debut at some point in 2023.
