Bengaluru, May 9: Rising Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sensations Tye and Kade Ruotolo will make their ONE Championship debuts at ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot on May 20.
The brothers are BJJ black belts training under Atos head coach Andre Galvao, who competed in a submission grappling match against Reinier De Ridder at ONE X.
ONE Championship and CEO Chatri Sityodtong confirmed the news about the 19-year-old twins' debuts, and they will be tested against stiff opposition.
Tye will face Garry Tonon in a single-round submission grappling contest. At 16 years old, Tye became the youngest person to reach the semifinals of an ADCC competition. He may not be the oldest in any competition he joins, but it's hard to deny his talent.
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However, he will face Tonon, a legend in his own right. While he has been concentrating on mixed martial arts lately, Tonon is still one of the best submission artists in the world and is also a BJJ black belt. Expect this pairing to be a fast-paced matchup, given both fighters prefer quick scrambles.
On the other hand, Kade will take on former ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya Aoki. Kade has won IBJJF World Championship matches at the juvenile and brown belt levels. He also won titles at WNO, Grapplefest, and EBI.
ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot - Full card announced for May 20 event
He tests his submission grappling skills against one of MMA's most successful submission fighters. Aoki's BJJ and judo black belts helped him score the most submission victories in The Home of Martial Arts. The 38-year-old lightweight contender will use his wisdom to outsmart his younger and faster opponent.
In connection with these matches, Sityodtong also announced changes in the submission grappling rule set from the ones implemented at ONE X.
Starting at ONE 157, fighters could be given a yellow card for lack of action. Likewise, winners will be based on "real" submission attempts if no one taps out. To contrast, at ONE's 10th-anniversary show contests were declared a draw if no one ended the match with a submission.
Source: Media Release