Tye Ruotolo submits Christian Lee to win ONE Championship lightweight title

Ruotolo, who already holds ONE's grappling belt, finished Lee with a first-round rear-naked choke in Bangkok in only his third professional MMA fight.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published Sat 7 Nov, 09:11 UK · AI-assisted reporting

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Tye Ruotolo is the new ONE Championship lightweight champion after choking out Christian Lee in the first round at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok on Friday. The title is contested at 170lb under ONE rules.

Ruotolo dropped Lee with a combination on the feet and followed up with ground and pound. He then took the back and locked in the rear-naked choke, forcing the tap just over three minutes into the fight.

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The win makes Ruotolo, who also holds the ONE grappling belt, an MMA champion after only three professional fights. All three have been in ONE and all have ended with a first-round rear-naked choke. He also earned a $100,000 performance bonus.

Ruotolo had predicted before the fight that a submission was the likeliest outcome, but said he also had “a lot of cool tools that I’m looking to whip out in the fight as well.” He said after the win: “I 100 percent wanted to get it done in the first round.” He added: “It was epic. Got my hands go. I consider that a TKO [laughs] even though I finished him with the sub.”