Tye Ruotolo recently discussed some of the matches that he wants in the future and although there’s a few interesting opponents, Gordon Ryan and Nicholas Meregali stood out as two of the biggest names. Ruotolo is obviously one of the most popular competitors in the sport himself, so it makes sense that he’s looking for huge matchups like that. He’s also no stranger to taking on the challenge of facing bigger opponents too, so the size difference between him and both Ryan and Meregali wouldn’t deter him. He also plans on making his MMA debut later this year, so he clearly wants to push himself.
He’s currently preparing to face Dante Leon at ONE Fight Night 31 and obviously that’s taking all of his focus at the moment, but he still has one eye on the future. When asked about other matches on the horizon, one of the first ideas that came up was a rematch with Mica Galvao:
“I’m always game to fight anyone no matter who it is, as long as it makes sense for the people and for everyone involved. Mica’s a tough fighter, for sure. No gi we’ve had a lot of great scraps, in the gi we’ve had a lot of great scraps, you know with him and my brother both. So whenever he wants to scrap I’m down, we’ve just gotta put it on the right promotion.”
That’s a match that makes much more sense of course, as both men compete around the same weight class. That’s what’s important to Ruotolo right now, staying on top of his division:
“I had a couple of rematches in mind for the last couple of years but those guys have kinda been injured and more so out the game. So right now I’m just looking to stay busy and keep defending my belt, and holding my number one spot. That’s all I care about is making sure there’s no one around my size that can beat me.”
Tye Ruotolo has had plenty of matches outside his normal weight class too though, and there aren’t many challenges there anywhere near as tough as Gordon Ryan or Nicholas Meregali. He already faced Meregali in the ADCC 2022 absolute division and although he lost, it was a very close match that ended in a decision when neither man could score. He hasn’t competed against Ryan, but they have gone back and forth on social media before. Ruotolo has reason to want matches with both of them, but he knows they’re unlikely to happen at any time soon:
“I wanna take the giants too when there’s one that I really look forward to. Eventually we’ll get that Gordon match and the Meregali rematch I wanted as well, but those guys are out right now.”
The full interview with Tye Ruotolo where he talks about potential matches with Gordon Ryan and Nicholas Meregali is now available to watch on the official JitsMagazine YouTube channel, click here to subscribe for more or check out the interview below:
