Tye Ruotolo is taking a break from defending his ONE Championship welterweight world title as he will now be facing Jozef Chen in a catchweight match at ONE Fight Night 23 on July 6th, 2024. It will be taking place at 186lbs so Ruotolo’s welterweight title will not be on the line in the match, but there will still be a huge amount to be gained for Chen regardlss. It’s a fantastic matchup and one that represents a huge opportunity for both men in fact, as Ruotolo has been on the hunt for some more big names to beat in his recent matches.
Chen has been a fantastic grappler for a while now but he burst onto the scene at the highest level by winning the ADCC European, Middle-Eastern, and African Trials 2023. That in itself would have been a huge achievement that would have earned him some recognition on the international stage, but the calibre of opponents he had to beat on his way to the title made the gold medal even more impressive. This has skyrocketed him up in the rankings and earned him far bigger opportunities moving forward, including this match against Ruotolo. Chen will not be using the invite he won though, as he has elected to enter the Craig Jones Invitational instead of ADCC 2024.
Ruotolo on the other hand has been one of the top competitors in the sport since he was just a teenager, and has already competed at ADCC twice despite being just 21. He won bronze in the absolute at ADCC 2022 and has since managed to work his way up to the top of the welterweight division at ONE Championship. Ruotolo won the title by submitting Magomed Abdulkadirov at ONE Fight Night 16 and he has since managed to defend it with yet another flawless performance. He submitted Izaak Michell at ONE Fight Night 21 in order to register his first title-defence, leaving with the belt wrapped around his waist again.
Although Tye Ruotolo might not have to worry about losing his belt to Jozef Chen at ONE Fight Night 23, there’s still a lot on the line here. Ruotolo currently has a perfect 6-0 record at ONE Championship with 4 submission wins, so he’ll be looking to extend that streak with another epic performance. Chen on other hand will be looking to add one of the biggest names in the sport to his resume, as a win over Ruotolo will only help to propel him up to the very top of the rankings. There will no doubt be plenty of action too, as both men are known for their exciting styles and relentless pace that they can put on opponents.