ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo of the United States admitted his pro MMA debut last weekend proved more challenging than anticipated after securing a second-round submission victory over fellow American ‘The Phenom’ Adrian Lee.The 22-year-old had predicted either an extremely fast submission within the first minute or a late finish, but found himself working harder than expected to secure the rear-naked choke at 4:14 of round two. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostRuotolo's transition from pure submission grappler to mixed martial artist presented new challenges against Lee's experience and well-rounded skillset, forcing him to adapt on the fly at Bangkok's legendary Lumpinee Stadium.Lee provided a stern test for Ruotolo's MMA debut, utilizing his years of experience competing in the all-encompassing sport.Ruotolo told Mitch ‘The Dragon’ Chilson in his ONE Fight Night 35 in-ring interview:"Oh, man, it felt good. Like I said, I was planning for it to be a minute, and I'm happy that I got the experience, you know? It's definitely longer than I expected, and it was hard."ONE Fight Night 35: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger, on Prime Video, is available to watch in North America via replay on demand with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.Tye Ruotolo thankful for taking longer than expected against Adrian LeeTye Ruotolo may have initially wanted to make a statement with a quick finish of Adrian Lee. But the 22-year-old says he’s grateful he got to put in more work in their lightweight scrap at ONE Fight Night 35: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger on Prime Video last weekend.He told Chilson:“The plan was to finish as quickly as possible. But it's so tough — it didn’t happen, took me into the second round. It’s good to get some more experience.”Check back with Sportskeeda MMA for more news on Tye Ruotolo.