Tye Ruotolo Goes for a Second ONE World Title Against Christian Lee
The 2022 IBJJF world champion is unbeaten in 11 ONE appearances, and his third MMA fight is against Christian Lee for the lightweight title.
Tye Ruotolo and Christian Lee headline The Inner Circle 37 on Friday at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, in a title fight scheduled for five rounds. The card starts at 3:30 AM PT (6:30 AM ET) and streams only for members on live.onefc.com
Ruotolo has never been one to wait his turn in ONE. He won the welterweight submission grappling title in his fifth match there, and a win on Friday would make him the first ONE grappling champion to also win one of its MMA world titles.
Ruotolo's MMA debut against Adrian Lee, Christian's younger brother, in September 2025:
And his third title defense, against Pawel Jaworski in March:
Nine Wins in Nine ONE Grappling Matches
Ruotolo is 9-0 in submission grappling in ONE, with four of those wins by submission. The run started with a 1:37 finish of Garry Tonon in May 2022, and his fifth win, over Magomed Abdulkadirov in November 2023, made him the first ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion.
He has defended the title three times since:
- Izaak Michell (ONE Fight Night 21, April 2024): submission at 4:43.
- Dante Leon (ONE Fight Night 31, May 2025): unanimous decision.
- Pawel Jaworski (ONE Fight Night 41, March 2026): unanimous decision. Jaworski went on to win ADCC gold at 88 kilograms in September.
Before ONE, Ruotolo won the 2022 IBJJF World Championship at lightweight in the gi, and he took bronze at middleweight at the 2023 Worlds. His twin brother, Kade Ruotolo, holds ONE's lightweight submission grappling title and is also unbeaten in MMA.
Two MMA Fights, Two Rear-Naked Chokes
Ruotolo's first MMA fight came at ONE Fight Night 35 in September 2025, where he submitted Adrian Lee at 4:14 of the second round. It was the first loss of Adrian Lee's professional career.
Two months later at ONE 173 in Tokyo, Ruotolo choked out Shozo Isojima at 2:26 of the first round. Both wins earned him a $50,000 performance bonus from ONE.
Christian Lee, ONE's Leader in Wins and Finishes
Lee, 28, holds ONE's lightweight and welterweight MMA titles. He became the promotion's youngest male MMA world champion when he knocked out Shinya Aoki for the lightweight belt in May 2019, and he added the welterweight title by stopping Kiamrian Abbasov in November 2022.
He's 18-4 with 17 wins inside the distance, and he holds ONE's records for most wins, most finishes and most first-round finishes. His last fight was a successful lightweight title defense against Alibeg Rasulov in 2025.
Here is how the two line up:
| Christian Lee | Tye Ruotolo | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 28 | 23 |
| MMA record | 18-4 | 2-0 |
| MMA wins by finish | 17 | 2 |
| ONE titles | Lightweight and welterweight MMA | Welterweight submission grappling |
| Last fight | Alibeg Rasulov, 2025 (MMA) | Pawel Jaworski, March 2026 (grappling) |
How to Watch
The Inner Circle 37 has five fights, and Lee vs Ruotolo closes the card.
| Event | The Inner Circle 37 |
| Date | Friday, November 6, 2026 |
| Location | Lumpinee Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand |
| Start | 3:30 AM PT, 6:30 AM ET (6:30 PM in Bangkok) |
| Main event | Christian Lee vs Tye Ruotolo, ONE Lightweight MMA World Title, five rounds |
| Watch | live.onefc.com, members only |
What Comes Next
Later on Friday, ONE Fight Night 49 runs at the same venue, with Victor Hugo against Devhonte Johnson in an openweight grappling match from 6:00 PM PT (9:00 PM ET) on Prime Video. The IBJJF Crown on Sunday and the rest of the weekend are in The Weekend Ahead and on our calendar.
All records, titles, times and videos in this story come from official channels.
