Tye Ruotolo, the reigning ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion, has been immersed in high-profile competitions at an elite level since his childhood days.

However, even before becoming one of the ONE Championship most celebrated competitors, Tye – along with his twin brother Kade Ruotolo – had long been regarded as two of the most promising and skilled young grapplers in the sport.

Notably, at the age of 16 and holding a BJJ blue belt, Tye Ruotolo demonstrated his exceptional talent by outclassing much older and more seasoned competitors – to secure fourth place at the ADCC World Championships in 2019.

Tye reflected on his journey in a recent interview with ONE Championship:

There’s always been pressure [in competition].
We’ve just been doing it since such a young age that it’s part of our lives.

It’s not even like we have an option. I don’t feel like I can just stop doing it – it’s just my identity.
It’s just like who I am, right?

Sure, Tye does things other than Jiu-Jitsu, but…

I surf, I got my other parts, but Jiu-Jitsu is what I do.
So every time I compete, that’s huge. It’s huge to me because that’s who I am.

You know, if I lose that, it’s a reflection of how I’ve how I’ve probably prepared.

And when it comes to the pressure?
He thinks about it as a part of any job:

The same way that I guess someone would make sure they have to show up to work every day, it’s the same way.

Like when I go to compete, I have to. I don’t have an option.
You know, that’s my job. I can’t quit.

I’m a Jiu-Jitsu fighter, you know?
That’s what I’ve spent my whole life doing.

 

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