Tye Ruotolo vs. Jozef Chen booked for ONE Fight Night 23
ADCC Trials champion Jozef Chen will take on Tye Ruotolo at ONE Fight Night 23 on Friday, July 5 in Bangkok.
Current ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo has another elite opponent lined up, as he’s set to take on fellow young phenom Jozef Chen in a submission grappling match at ONE Fight Night 23.
That event will go down on Friday, July 5, at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The match – listed on ONE’s official website – will be a non-title affair and will take place at a 186-pound catchweight.
Consistently ranked as one of the top pound-for-pound competitors in grappling, Ruotolo is the youngest-ever IBJJF black belt world champion and has held the ONE welterweight submission grappling world title since defeating ADCC veteran Magomed Abdulkadirov last November. Since then, the 21-year-old has successfully defended his gold once with an impressive submission victory over Australian standout Izaak Michell.
For his part, Chen is one of the fastest-rising athletes in the sport. Unlike many young prodigies in BJJ, the 19-year-old started training when he was a teenager and rapidly advanced to an elite level. His most notable victories came at last year’s ADCC European Trials where he took out three ADCC veterans in a row to earn a spot at the 2024 ADCC World Championships. Chen has since committed to competing at the Craig Jones Invitational instead of ADCC 2024.
While both grapplers are top young talents, they are stylistically quite different. Ruotolo is a true buzzsaw of activity, preferring to push a relentless pace from the top position where he possesses excellent guard passing and a knack for finding his trademark d’arce choke. Chen, meanwhile, is a much more methodical and control-oriented competitor who employs excellent tripod passing from the top position and a dangerous leg lock game from his guard.
How to watch: Tye Ruotolo vs. Jozef Chen takes place on Friday, July 5 at ONE Fight Night 23, and will air live on Prime Video (free with Amazon Plus subscription) beginning at 8:00 PM ET.
