Kade Ruotolo will step back inside the ONE Championship Circle on Friday in a bid to become the first-ever ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion. The teenage star will meet Uali Kurzhev as part of the triple-header in Kuala Lumpur at ONE on Prime Video 3. After an exciting entry into ONE against Shinya Aoki, Ruotolo’s year has only gotten better.
The Atos Jiu-Jitsu star made history last month by becoming the youngest ADCC World Champion in history. Perhaps most impressively about the accomplishment is that he did so by finishing each of his opponents. The feat was not even something Ruotolo thought about before securing his spot in history.
“I didn’t even know I was going to be the youngest. Yeah, I just genuinely didn’t know. To me, it doesn’t really change the result or anything like that so much. I guess the one thing that really changes is that my name will kind of be in history, as far as I guess, until someone breaks that record. And, you know, every two years, we have so much talent, so much new talent. The last ADCC was my brother at 16 years old, you know what I mean? So we never know who’s going to be the next step, or the next person having that break, that breakthrough performance,” said Ruotolo.
When Ruotolo steps back inside the Circle, he will be representing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Kurzhev will test his ground game with Sambo. The clash of grappling styles is something new to Ruotolo, who has limited experience with the art form, but he is excited about the opportunity to wear the badge for BJJ.
“I think any part of grappling, and any part of the match, no matter where it goes, I’m always going to feel confident in my abilities to hold my own. Personally, I feel like my brother and I have, in the most humble way possible, we have some of the best leglock defense out there. And, of course, Sambo guys are tricky. They do some things more: a lot more straight ankle locks, toeholds, kneebars, and things like that. Not as many heel hooks, but they do dabble with them. So I’m very excited to see what he throws at me,” said the 19-year-old.
As Ruotolo continues to develop his game, his confidence is growing. Experience has played a big role in how he has become more confident as he has maintained constant activity on the grappling scene. With the momentum rolling after his ADCC victory, now the Southern California native looks to start padding his bank account.
At ONE 157, Ruotolo defeated Aoki by unanimous decision. Meanwhile, his brother Tye earned an extra $50,000 for his lightning-quick submission over Garry Tonon. After competing under ONE’s global ruleset for submission grappling, Ruotolo feels more confident in what he will be able to accomplish against his Russian opponent. And he hopes he can collect a bonus check to match his brother’s in the process.
“This time, I feel like I’m coming in with a really good idea. I took a lot of tips from that first one, and I think I know what exactly I need to do, what pace I need to throw, and what attacks I need to throw. And I’m always trying to be as exciting as possible and go for the submission. That 50 G’s comes with it,” said Ruotolo.
The Atos Jiu-Jitsu star has the same game plan ready for his Russian foe. He plans to take him down, pass his guard, and submit him. As for a prediction, Ruotolo is eyeing a possible D’Arce choke or leg lock, but he is ready for whatever. When the end comes, he hopes to throw the ONE title over his shoulder and wear the banner as the new wave of sensational BJJ stars.
