ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion Kade Ruotolo shocked the world when he took out seasoned MMA fighter Blake Cooper in his first foray in the all-encompassing sport at ONE 167 earlier this month.
The 21-year-old phenom will return to his submission grappling roots in September, however, when he defends his crown against ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion Mikey Musumeci at ONE 168 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on September 6.
Appearing on The MMA Hour podcast, Ruotolo said he was just warming up when he secured the fight-ending rear-naked choke in the opening round against Cooper.
“I wouldn’t say it went better than I thought, and I would say it went worse than I thought. I definitely felt like on my feet, I had so much more to show as far as my striking goes,” he said.
“I loved every second of it. The second it ended, I wanted to step back in the ring and fight that night. It just made me want to come back for more. I want to become the best, I want to become the champion. In everything I do, I have this delusion where I want to become the best at it. So, that’s always the goal.”
The question is whether an athlete can become the best at something while they’re juggling other things.
For Ruotolo, the pendulum will have to swing toward MMA at some stage if he wants to achieve his goal.
“I think there’ll be a time where jiu-jitsu is put on the backburner a bit, but never completely,” he said.
“There’ll still be certain tournaments and certain things. I still want to keep my belt and do those big tournaments. So, maybe once or twice a year [I’ll compete] in jiu-jitsu, give or take. I really want to step on the gas for MMA.”
If the Kade Ruotolo has his way, he’ll be back on home soil for another rumble sooner rather than later.
Kade Ruotolo eyes next MMA fight at ONE 169: Atlanta
Grappling maestro Kade Ruotolo is already looking ahead to his next MMA fight, which he hopes will take place at ONE 169: Atlanta on November 8.
“For sure, I’m trying to get on a card as soon as possible,” he said.
“We’ve got a couple of big jiu-jitsu things lined up. You’ve got that September card in Colorado with ONE Championship [against Mikey Musumeci]. I’ll be on that, but hopefully right after that I’ll put the gloves back on. I think there’s a November card.”
To hit a two-month turnaround, however, he’ll have to emerge unscathed from his showdown with leglock wizard Musumeci.
“Darth Rigatoni” has submissions in five of the seven victories in his unbeaten ONE career to date.