Tye Ruotolo before Christian Lee title shot: 'I don't want to fight the taxi cab drivers'

The grappling star, 2-0 in MMA, challenges Christian Lee for a ONE title in his third pro fight in Bangkok on Friday, and expects the two-division champion to hunt an early knockout.

Tye Ruotolo has said he never wanted "a million MMA matches" on the way up, telling MMA Fighting he only wants the best before he challenges Christian Lee for a ONE title in his third professional fight in Bangkok on Friday.

Ruotolo is 2-0 after rear-naked choke wins in 2025 over Adrian Lee, the younger brother of the man he now faces, and Shozo Isojima. He said he asked for a solid opponent for his debut to test his skills. "I always told Chatri [Sityodtong], I always told my brother that I don't want to have a million MMA matches. I want to fight the best in the world. I don't want to fight people I know I can win," he said. "I don't want to fight the taxi cab drivers, you know? I want to fight the best in the world, so I'm looking forward to it."

The 23-year-old expects Lee, a two-division champion who has been submitted only once in MMA, to come for him early. He said: "I think he wants to come in and throw big kicks and big punches and try to end the fight in the first round." He added: "I know as the fight goes on, he's probably going to try to nail my legs a lot, make it hard for me to move and try to catch me with a big punch, maybe wait for my chin to raise a little bit."

Lee has said he plans to "knock him out cold or put him to sleep". Asked to rate Lee's grappling from one to 10, with heavyweight Robelis Despaigne a one and Gordon Ryan or the Ruotolos a 10, Ruotolo settled on "like a six, a five". His own plan is no secret. "A lot of forward pressure, just going for the kill," he said, adding: "Realistically, the chances of me winning will be with the submission."

A win would make Ruotolo a champion in MMA at 3-0, and he plans to defend both his MMA and grappling belts. He has also said the Lee fight is "going to be a war". "I don't want to stop here. It's just starting," he said.

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