Last Friday, at ONE Fight Night 23: Ok vs. Rasulov on Prime Video, current ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo took on perhaps his toughest test yet and emerged victorious.

That night, live in U.S. primetime from Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium, the 21-year-old superstar secured a unanimous decision win over fellow young phenom Jozef Chen in a non-title catchweight submission grappling tilt that had the BJJ world buzzing.

Tye Ruotolo reflects on an unconvincing win despite an unbeaten record

The victory extended Ruotolo’s unblemished ONE record to 7-0 and further cemented him as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound competitors. While he’s happy to be leaving Bangkok with another win under his belt, the Californian is disappointed that he wasn’t able to score the submission finish.

He spoke about the match and why he feels like he let the fans down: “For sure, I could have performed a lot better. It’s not a performance that I’m very proud of. I didn’t have the best camp and I didn’t feel the best way going through the fight, unless it’s the fact that I won even on my worst day. It makes me happy.”

He further added, “But that’s not a performance that I like to have, especially in a place like Lumpinee. I have so much respect for the people in the audience and the stadium, so I always do my best to give a good show.”

Ruotolo praises opponent Jozef Chen after a tough matchup

Even though he’s accustomed to dominating his competition, Ruotolo admits that Chen was a supremely talented and game opponent. Indeed, the 19-year-old promotional newcomer has been hailed as the next big thing in BJJ, renowned for his incredible mastery of technique.

Ruotolo praised Chen and what he brought to the table on fight night: “He’s a tough kid. Maybe a little stronger than I thought. You know, he looks like a nerd online, to be honest with you. But he’s a little bit stronger in person.”

He further emphasized, “But yeah, all the respect to Jozef, he’s such a good representative of jiu-jitsu. [He has] really amazing technique, and [he’s] a really good kid. I’m really grateful to have the match with him.”