Ruotolo Reveals He Called Out Christian Before Adrian Lee Win

Tye Ruotolo chased the champion before he finished the champion's brother.

The unbeaten grappler meets Christian Lee for ONE Championship's lightweight title on November 6 in Bangkok. Ruotolo holds two MMA victories — both submission stoppages that earned $50,000 bonuses — but his pursuit of the older Lee brother started before either one, BJPenn.com reports. He stopped Adrian Lee last September, then finished Shozo Isojima two months later.

Title Callout Came Before MMA Debut

Ruotolo told the outlet he had already set his sights on Christian before stepping into an MMA cage. "I called out Christian, and I was confident that I had the ability to beat him," he said, per BJPenn.com. The 23-year-old carried a perfect 9-0 record in ONE's grappling division into mixed martial arts, with three successful defences of his welterweight submission grappling belt. His latest title retention came against Pawel Jaworski.

Christian Lee won ONE's lightweight crown in 2019 as the youngest male titleholder in company history. He added a second belt at welterweight in 2022. Lee owns promotional records across multiple categories including total wins, finishes, and first-round stoppages. Only one of his 18 victories reached the scorecards.

Ruotolo expects a tough assignment but plans to fly home with gold. The card airs live from Lumpinee Stadium during Asian primetime hours.

Reported via:

• BJPenn — Tye Ruotolo admits he wanted to fight Christian Lee before beating younger brother Adrian