ONE Championship has announced another blockbuster clash for its historic U.S. debut on May 5.
Tye Ruotolo will grace the ONE circle on home soil for the first time during his stint in the promotion. The American BJJ phenom will have a tall challenge ahead of him, as he is scheduled to lock horns with ONE middleweight world champion Reinier de Ridder in a submission grappling super-fight at “ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III.”
Fans will have to wait a few more months before the pair meet at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colorado. But here are three reasons why everyone should start getting excited.
1. De Ridder went the distance with Ruotolo’s coach
De Ridder and Ruotolo already have some history.
“The Dutch Knight” took on the 20-year-old prodigy’s coach Andre Galvao at ONE X back in March 2022, taking the Brazilian legend the distance. Ultimately, the bout was declared a draw after 12 minutes of action.
The fact that de Ridder was able to hang with a fourth-degree black belt in Galvao speaks to his elite-level grappling skills, and the 32-year-old will be keen to go one step further and score a submission over his former rival’s protege.
Ruotolo, on the other hand, will no doubt be extra motivated to do what his coach was unable to accomplish – tapping out the middleweight MMA king.
2. Ruotolo steps up in weight
Ruotolo has gotten his ONE career off to a flying start.
The California native has produced thrilling submission wins over grappling legend Garry Tonon and four-time ONE featherweight world champion Marat Gafurov.
However, his showdown with Tonon took place at lightweight, while the Gafurov battle went down at a catchweight of 180 pounds.
De Ridder has alternated between middleweight and light heavyweight in his MMA career, and the match with Ruotolo is set to take place at the former.
The weight adds an intriguing wrinkle to the matchup, and “The Dutch Knight” will already enter the contest half a foot taller. That could level the playing field when the bigger man takes on a pure Brazilian jiu-jitsy specialist in the ONE circle.
3. The back-and-forth between the pair has set the scene
De Ridder and Ruotolo have exchanged plenty of words in the lead-up to the announcement of the bout.
After his win over Gafurov last December, the Californian took to the mic and requested a submission grappling match with de Ridder.
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo black belt was quick to accept the challenge, and he has not been shy in asserting that he can choke anybody in the world – a claim that Ruotolo has called into question.
With the feud already simmering nicely, expect there to be some extra feeling in the showdown between these two elite-level grapplers.
