ONE Championship Stars Kade and Tye Ruotolo Train Lionel Messi’s Bodyguard During an Event
ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion Kade Ruotolo had an unexpected training partner in Los Angeles.
Lionel Messi's bodyguard Yassine Cheuko joined the Ruotolo brothers during a sponsor campaign event, where Kade showed him a slick move.
Cheuko shared the video on Instagram and thanked Kade and his twin brother, ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo, for the lesson.
Both 23-year-old Americans are arguably the greatest submission grapplers of their generation, undefeated in ONE Championship and holding world titles while building their MMA careers.
Tye challenges ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion Christian Lee for his crown at The Inner Circle 37 on November 6 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. That fight will stream exclusively on live.onefc.com.
Tye Ruotolo Did Not Expect to Meet Messi's Bodyguard in LA\
The meeting came about through a shared sponsor rather than any planned training session. Tye explained how the campaign brought them together and how unexpected the encounter was.
"It was through our sponsor. We have a mutual sponsor with Yerba Madre. It's a cool tea company. And I guess they did a little campaign and brought a lot of the athletes around. I think there was like an art show in LA is what it was and, yeah, I wasn't necessarily expecting to meet him," Tye explained.
An art show in Los Angeles is not the usual setting for a grappling lesson, but the Ruotolo brothers have built their careers on making the most of every opportunity. Kade and Tye both hold unbeaten ONE Championship records and have been inspirations to fans around the world.
ONE World Champion Calls Cheuko a Cool Dude Who Loves Martial Arts
Once the introductions were made, the Ruotolos quickly realized Cheuko was no casual fan. His enthusiasm for martial arts was clear, and he was eager to learn a few techniques on the spot.
"He's such a cool dude. He's got some really good energy. You could tell he loves martial arts a lot, so he was down just to go over a bunch of little moves while we were out in public," Tye said.
Cheuko has been by Messi's side for years, protecting the soccer icon during his time at Paris Saint-Germain and following him to Inter Miami CF, where Messi now captains the club.
His love for martial arts was obvious to the Ruotolos from the moment they met, and the impromptu session gave fans a rare crossover between the worlds of soccer and grappling.
No Mat, No Problem – Cheuko Was Ready to Learn from Ruotolo Brothers
The session was far from a standard training environment. There was no mat and no gym, just a public event and a willingness to learn, but Cheuko was undeterred.
"We didn't necessarily have a mat underneath our feet, but he was still willing to roll and do some jiu-jitsu, for sure. He's cool. He's down. He's got martial arts in his heart, for sure," Tye said.
The lesson was a light-hearted moment ahead of a serious stretch, with Tye's lightweight MMA title challenge against Christian Lee at The Inner Circle 37 just a week away.
Both brothers are chasing two-sport glory, and an afternoon of jiu-jitsu with Messi's bodyguard was a reminder of why they fell in love with the art in the first place.
