Pawel Jaworski opens his promotional account against ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo in a 10-minute all-grappling showdown at ONE Fight Night 41: Rodrigues vs. Phetjeeja on Friday, March 13, live on Prime Video from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Academia Gorila standout swept the IBJJF circuit in 2025, capturing the No-Gi Pans, No-Gi Europeans, and No-Gi Worlds in the same calendar year — a run that put him on ONE Championship’s radar between the semifinal and final of the No-Gi Worlds in December. He learned about the booking before he even had the gold in hand, and he learned it was a World Title shot shortly after.
“We got contacted by ONE between the semifinal and the final of IBJJF Worlds in December. So I was a bit shocked, but I was very happy to get this fight with Tye,” Jaworski said. “At the beginning, I just got the information about getting the fight in ONE. So we immediately accepted that. And then my coach told me that it’s a title matchup. So it was really exciting, and I’m really happy to have it.”
Pawel Jaworski banking on leg locks to crack Tye Ruotolo’s game
Standing across from Pawel Jaworski is a champion who has never been truly broken on the mat. Tye Ruotolo holds a perfect promotional grappling record, two successful title defenses, and a 2-0 start to his MMA career. The 23-year-old California native is as complete a submission grappler as the sport has produced. Jaworski isn’t pretending otherwise — he acknowledges Ruotolo’s status freely. But acknowledging elite quality and being stopped by it are two different things, and the Polish challenger has identified a crack he intends to exploit.
Ruotolo’s style thrives in chaos — dragging opponents into frantic scrambles and punishing any moment of hesitation. Jaworski has spent his camp with trusted head coach Marcin Polczyk building a plan designed specifically for that environment. His leg-lock system has been his sharpest weapon throughout the IBJJF circuit, and he believes it represents the most credible path to an upset. For Poland, a victory would produce the country’s first-ever ONE World Champion.
“It’s hard to say what weaknesses he has — he’s the best in the world right now. In general, he’s very well-rounded,” Jaworski said. “But I was watching his matches, and most of the matches that he lost were probably by leg locks or by decision. So I’m looking to go into this area of grappling in his game because maybe it can be his weakness. I hope it’s gonna work. I would like to use my best weapons. Of course, I would like to look for the leg locks. I hope we will give a great fight for the people to watch.”
