Kade Ruotolo took home a $1 million prize over the weekend. The ONE Championship athlete competed in the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational over the weekend and won the under 80kg division with four wins. All of this before he returns to defend the ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title on Friday, September 6, at ONE 168: Denver against Mikey Musumeci.
In the first match of the invitational, Ruotolo submitted Jason Nolf with a kneebar. The win set up a match against Tommy Langaker, who Ruotolo had last competed against at ONE 165. Ruotolo continued his winning ways with a unanimous decision victory.
Kade Ruotolo gets the win over Tommy Langaker to secure his spot in the semifinals! He will face either Eoghan O’Flanagan or Andrew Tackett!#CJI #KnowYourRoll #JiuJitsuMag #JJM#JJMOnline#BJJ #MMA #TheGentleArt#JiuJitsu pic.twitter.com/O5BcTdJY0U
— Jiu-Jitsu Magazine (@jitsumag) August 17, 2024
In the semi-final contest, Ruotolo got another decision win over Andrew Tackett. On the other side of the bracket, Levi Jones-Leary moved himself into the final after three victories, including a rare win over Tye Ruotolo. It set the stage for a big final where Ruotolo was looking for the $1 million and a little revenge for his brother.
It was a huge undertaking for five rounds, but in the end, the ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion got it done. Ruotolo had the best submission opportunity in the match with a triangle choke but could not get the tap. Although Jones-Leary battled hard, Ruotolo’s aggression and work from the top position paid off with a win.
— Lock-In Jiu-Jitsu (@lockinjiujitsu) August 20, 2024
The Craig Jones Invitational win continued Ruotolo’s amazing streak. Now he gets to look down the aisle to see Musumeci on September 6 on Prime Video in what could decide who is the pound-for-pound best submission artist in the world. If he gets a win, 2024 will be a historic year for the Atos BJJ superstar.
ONE 168: Denver airs live on Prime Video on Friday, September 6. It emanates from the Ball Arena at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Remaining tickets are available via Ticketmaster.
