After successfully defending his submission grappling world title against Pawel Jaworski, Tye Ruotolo spoke candidly about his performance – and guard pulling.

Ruotolo admitted that although he secured the victory by unanimous decision, he did not feel at his sharpest during the match:

I felt a little rusty in there, honestly.
Things weren’t coming to me the way they should have been.

He expressed confidence that his lifelong experience in BJJ will always keep him competitive at the highest level:

Kade and I have been training since we were 3 years old, every single day of our lives pretty much.
So even if we’re starting to focus on another sport, I feel like we’ll always be right there at the top in Jiu-Jitsu.

It’s all we’ve ever known. I know it better than I speak English.

Ruotolo also said that matches dominated by passive guard play can be difficult for audiences to engage with:

Guys like Pawel, he’s so technical.
Jiu-Jitsu is all about technique, it’s all about the smaller person beating the bigger guy…

But at the end of the day, we’re on a show.
When there’s a lot of butt scooting from both sides or one side, it just makes it difficult for it to be digestible for the fans.

He jokingly described certain positions that can stall action in grappling matches:

They’re in the 50/50 doing… I call it “the ultimate scissoring championship”.
They’re just sitting there.

I brought my girlfriend here. I don’t want her to see me just in the 50/50 the whole match.
I want to do some cool exciting stuff. Not just her, but everyone. It’s a show.

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