Christian Lee vs. Tye Ruotolo booked for ONE The Inner Circle 37
The two-division champion will defend his ONE lightweight title against the 23-year-old jiu-jitsu sensation on Nov. 6 in Bangkok.
Christian Lee has his next title defense. The reigning ONE lightweight and welterweight MMA champion is set to face submission grappling star Tye Ruotolo at ONE The Inner Circle 37 on Nov. 6 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The matchup was officially announced by the promotion on Monday.
Christian Lee Defends Lightweight Title
After more than a decade competing in ONE Championship, Lee enters the bout as one of the most accomplished fighters in the organization's history. The 28-year-old Canadian-American is the current ONE lightweight and welterweight champion and owns the promotion's records for most wins, most finishes and most first-round finishes.
The Canadian-American enters the match with plenty of momentum, going 9-1 with one no contest inside the cage since November 2018. Most recently, Lee stopped Alibeg Rasulov by TKO to retain his lightweight belt.
Although the championship is contested at 170 pounds under ONE's hydration-based weight system, it remains the organization's lightweight division. Lee will look to add another title defense against one of the promotion's most prominent young prospects.
Tye Ruotolo Gets Biggest MMA Test
Despite being only 23 years old, Ruotolo arrives with one of the strongest grappling resumes in the sport. The American is a multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, an ADCC medalist and the reigning ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion.
His transition to MMA has been equally impressive. Ruotolo is 2-0 with both victories coming by rear-naked choke in ONE Championship, making this title opportunity just the third MMA fight of his professional career.
Lee and Ruotolo are expected to headline ONE The Inner Circle 37 on Nov. 6 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.
