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Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Rafael Lovato Jr. of the United States is in awe of how far the Ruotolo twins have come in such a short period of time.
The 42-year-old made a triumphant promotional debut at ONE 173 in Tokyo on Nov. 16, where he defeated two-time ADCC world champion Giancarlo Bodoni in their middleweight submission grappling showdown.
On the same card, Tye Ruotolo submitted Shozo Isojima via rear-naked choke to go 2-0 in his mixed martial arts career.
Speaking to combat sports journalist Nick Atkin after the event, Lovato Jr. recalled watching Tye and his twin brother Kade grow up to become two of the best grapplers of this generation.
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"Man, it's amazing. I've seen them grow up. And they've always been like so respectful, great attitude, great character. I've been talking to them since they were little kids, and seeing them come into their own as young men and martial artists is amazing."
The former Bellator Middleweight World Champion added:
“Super happy for all their success. Hanging out with them all week has been just a pleasure. Lots of fun, lots of laughs, and he [Tye] deserves a victory, and I know there are big things in store for both of them for sure."
Watch the full interview:
Tye Ruotolo open to fighting Rafael Lovato Jr. in MMA
Tye Ruotolo has a great deal of respect and admiration for Rafael Lovato Jr.
But if given the chance, the 22-year-old wants to test himself against the decorated veteran, who retired from MMA with an unbeaten 11-0 record.
The ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion told Nick Atkin in his own interview:
"I would love to. He's an undefeated MMA fighter, right? Yeah. So yeah, he's still got plenty, I see him. He's still got fight left in him, you know, plenty of it, you know, so it's sick to see for sure. He's such a legend."
