Reigning ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion hasn’t spent this much time away from competition since he started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the tender age of 4.
The 22-year-old is now preparing for his big return to action at , as he라이브 바카라 set to defend his gold against Canadian powerhouse in U.S. primetime on Friday, May 2.
Slated to go down at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, that matchup pits two of the planet라이브 바카라 top pound-for-pound grapplers against each other – and it will be Ruotolo라이브 바카라 first appearance since suffering a devastating knee injury last summer.
The American superstar recently spoke to about the injury, the recovery process, and the key lessons learned during his time away from ONE라이브 바카라 bright lights:
“It was the biggest injury I’ve had in jiu-jitsu. I’ve had some torn ligaments before in my knee, but nothing quite to the extent and the amount of damage I did this last time.
“I didn’t need to go with the surgery. I was super stoked. My body ended up healing after a couple months. And yeah, it라이브 바카라 just been getting my knee strong and getting it ready for competition over the past six months – longest time I’ve ever been out of competition and off the mats.
“It라이브 바카라 been quite a process getting it back, for sure. I’m just grateful to have another opportunity to be on the mat. I definitely took it for granted, just competing, even.”
For someone who라이브 바카라 spent a lifetime pushing his body to the limit, training and competing at the highest level available, being forced to the sidelines was anything but easy.
For the first two weeks after the injury, Ruotolo couldn’t do any of the things that typically highlight his days – surfing, grappling, MMA training – much less get out of the house for a walk.
But right from the start, he also made sure to keep in mind what a healthy knee should feel like:
“It sucks, you know, being couch-locked. It라이브 바카라 like there라이브 바카라 nothing to do. I was on Fortnite, just gaming and stuff. I had to get out of the house, figure it out, and then start walking. Get back to trusting my knee again.
“Right after it happened, I just took a mental picture of when my knee felt good, the way it felt when it was perfect. And so that way I’d be able to compare it to throughout the healing process, and I’m right back there to that point, so I’m happy.”
After receiving stem cell therapy and putting in some dedicated work in the weight room to strengthen the tendons around his knee, the American sensation is primed and ready to do what he does best.
During his time away, Ruotolo watched his twin brother, reigning ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion , rack up two more wins in his undefeated MMA career.
While Tye did enjoy playing the role of coach, it also fueled his own fire:
“I feel like the toughest part was watching [Kade] scrapping in MMA. It just made me really wanna scrap, too.
“But, also, it was nice just being able to be in the coach라이브 바카라 chair and not have to worry about competing. Usually, we compete on the same night, or I got something else to stress about, but I was there just fully in coach mode in the last six months. So that was kinda cool to be in that kind of chair. Obviously, whenever he fights, I wanna be scrapping right there with him, though.
“So, for sure, some love-hate feelings there. But I’m happy to be back.”
Ruotolo Paying More Attention To His Body And Mind
In his time on the injured list, Tye Ruotolo learned some valuable lessons.
First and foremost, the BJJ black belt came to realize that prevention is the key to avoiding injuries. Taking care of his body, he said, will keep him competing at an elite level for years to come:
“I noticed the more jiu-jitsu I do, the worse my body gets. Right? So it라이브 바카라 important to take care of your temple. I do my best to learn as much as I can about my body. That way, I keep my wheels rolling as long as I can. There라이브 바카라 a lot that goes into it.
“Jiu-jitsu is not good for your body, quite frankly. It라이브 바카라 good for your soul.”
Most notably, Ruotolo has made significant changes to how he fuels his body. He noticed that many of the unhealthy, inflammatory foods he typically ate only made his injury worse.
With that in mind, he adjusted his approach to eating. After all, food is one of the few things in his control when it comes to injury prevention and recovery:
“I learned that what you eat is super important. I was never super strict on my diet. In fact, I always had a pretty bad relationship with food, just with all the weight cuts. And the American diet isn’t set up to be the healthiest, so I definitely had my fair share of s*** food over the years.
“I noticed that when you have an injury like that, the inflammation and how much it affects your injury. So just the diet and taking it day by day. When you have an injury, you’re looking in the future and you’re worrying about how much time you’re gonna be out, and you’re worrying about everything in the future that you can’t control.
“But what you can control is the day to day. So I just made sure that I was doing what I could every day for myself, just checking in. And it라이브 바카라 important to have those mental checkups on yourself even every day.”
