Jozef Chen elated to test mettle against Tye Ruotolo at ONE Fight Night 23

Jozef Chen relishes the opportunity to go head-to-head against one of the best submission grapplers on the planet today. 

The 19-year-old prodigy squares off with ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo in a non-title 186-pound catchweight contest. This happens at ONE Fight Night 23 on Prime Video, airing live in U.S. primetime from the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, July 5.

Chen can hardly contain his enthusiasm about sharing the mat with a fellow phenom like Ruotolo.

“I’m very proud to be able to compete at this level at this point. I think it’s very cool, because, generally, for me, jiu-jitsu, I want to have very good jiu-jitsu,” he said.

“The competition is more secondary to my jiu-jitsu. Being able to compete and display my jiu-jitsu, that’s what really makes me happy.”

Despite his rising stature in the sport, he remains modest and soft-spoken, offering sincere praise for his opponent.

“Tye is definitely one of the more exciting and one of the more well-accomplished grapplers in the sport,” Chen said.

“So, especially for me, outside of how good he is and the level that he’s on, I think one of the things that makes it exciting for me is that I’ve been watching him for, man, since I was a yellow, orange belt. So being able to compete against him, it’s a very cool experience.”

Jozef Chen looks to leverage guard-passing game against Tye Ruotolo

Jozef Chen’s recent achievements speak volumes about his capabilities, having secured several impressive victories against some of the most revered black belts.

One of Chen’s standout strengths has been his exceptional guard-passing skills. This facet of his game has garnered attention and respect within the grappling community.

As Chen prepares for his showdown with Tye Ruotolo, he recognizes the pivotal role that gaining the top position will play in determining the outcome of the match.

“My idea is definitely to try and test a lot of the skills that I’m trying to work on. So standing position is definitely one that I’m going to try to see what works, see what doesn’t, and try to play from that,” he said.

“Because if I can get to top position on top of Tye, it’ll be very winning from there. Just generally, you see him want to do his best work from top. So being able to put him in bottom, I think this will be a good strategy for me if I’m able to do that.”