“His style of jiu-jitsu intrigues me” - Tye Ruotolo expects all-out grappling aggression from Izaak Michell at ONE Fight Night 21

Tye Ruotolo has always been adamant about facing an opponent who can match his explosive style, and he's getting his wish at ONE Fight Night 21.

The reigning ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion will put his gold on the line against Australian standout Izaak Michell in the card's co-main event this Friday, US primetime.

Ahead of his world title defense at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, Ruotolo told the South China Morning Post how Michell's aggressive style intrigues him.

Tye Ruotolo said Michell operates with a similar aggression to his game and their matchup would make for an entertaining spectacle in Bangkok.

"He is, for sure. His style of jiu-jitsu intrigues me. Number one, I know he likes to fight hard and he's very aggressive, you know, which is good because I like when people are aggressive towards me. It definitely brings a bigger and better beast out of me."

Ruotolo has never been shy of pushing the envelope whenever he competes in ONE Championship, and he'll stop at nothing to secure the submission win.

The American phenom is a perfect 5-0 in ONE Championship and is coming off a stellar victory over Russian grappler Magomed Abdulkadirov.

ONE Fight Night 21, just like all of ONE Championship's Amazon cards, is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

Watch Ruotolo's interview below:

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Izaak Michell in awe of Tye Ruotolo's hyper-aggressive style

Tye Ruotolo and Izaak Michell have yet to go face to face with each other, but it's evident that both fighters hold a deep respect with each other.

In his interview with ONE Championship, Michell said Ruotolo was always a cut above the competition in the stacked submission grappling scene.

Michell admired Ruotolo's style of pushing the pace and bringing the fight to his opponents:

"What he does well is he's very aggressive, but at the same time, he can change his intensity and be smooth, and he's not afraid to do anything that comes up. So, he might not know or specialize in this move, but he's willing to do it when it counts in the big competition."