Tye Ruotolo | Performance of the Week

While his brother Kade scored submission of the night at WNO (and a possible sub of the year nomination), Tye Ruotolo was also lighting up the WNO mat with a rousing performance against William Tackett. #3-ranked welterweight Ruotolo moved up in weight to originally challenge Craig Jones, who had to pull out just 6 days out due to sickness. #3-ranked middleweight Tackett bravely stepped in and though on paper it seemed he would be a good match for Ruotolo, the Atos brown belt came at him with an intensity rarely seen in submission grappling.

Ruotolo was a tornado of activity, and he showed a meaner, more assertive style than we’ve seen from him in the past. He smothered Tackett’s face much like Vagner Rocha– Ruotlo even gave him props in his post-match interview for inspiring him to get a little grittier with his tactics. The results speak for themselves.