Tye Ruotolo Credit: ONE Championship
Following in the footsteps of twin brother Kade, Tye Ruotolo made the jump to MMA on Friday, with his professional debut coming against another dynasty fighter in Adrian Lee at ONE Fight Night 35.
Lee, the younger brother of Christian, Angela, and the late Victoria Lee, had started his own MMA career going 3-0. All three of those wins had come via submission, though going to the ground with ONE welterweight submission grappling champ Ruotolo was a questionable idea at best.
Despite being only 22, Tye Ruotolo was the elder fighter, with Adrian Lee still just 19.
Ruotolo didn’t waste any time chasing a takedown in his mixed martial arts debut, shooting in early and putting Lee on the defensive. While Lee fought off the initial attempt, a bodylock takedown left Lee on his back, Ruotolo in guard.
Lee was active off his back, throwing up a triangle at one point, with Ruotolo slamming his way out. Despite Ruotolo backing off, Lee didn’t scramble up, and Tye wound up getting back on top, looking to land more ground n’ pound. Lee would eventually find some space and fire upkicks, nearly clipping Ruotolo. Lee managed to fire elbows off his back, while Ruotolo made his way to half-guard, looking to mount as the round entered its final minute.
Ruotolo did just that, landing some smashing elbows shortly after. Lee wound up hanging on for dear life, then attempted to buck Ruotolo off. He finally slipped out the back door, and unloaded a few shots before blocking a high kick. Ruotolo landed an uppercut, and Lee a left hand before the round closed out.
Both fighters had their brothers in their corner in Bangkok, working to fire them up between rounds. In the second, Ruotolo worked his jab, and continued to fire high kicks. Lee would charge forward in response, his left hand his most dangerous weapon. After being lulled into a standup fight for a couple of minutes, however, Lee found himself taken down as Ruotolo changed levels. And it was right back to mount for Ruotolo, though Lee almost slipped out. Ruotolo locked up an arm-bar, but Lee was able to escape the position, only to find himself mounted. Again, he escaped, getting back up, but Tye Ruotolo was all over the teenager.
Ruotolo was picking his shots, landing punch after punch with Lee hanging on the ropes. Another takedown would follow, with Ruotolo taking the back. The rear-naked choke went in, after the ref restarted the position following a bit of a mix-up with the ropes, and while Lee fought the hands, trying to peel the choke off, he was eventually forced to tap!
ONE’s welterweight submission grappling champ, Tye Ruotolo, successful in his MMA debut, serving up the first loss of Adrian Lee’s career. The performance also earned Ruotolo a $50,000 post-fight bonus.
Official Result: Tye Ruotolo def. Adrian Lee by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 4:14