ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion Kade Ruotolo has gotten his wish for a
crack at MMA after his latest win.
The 21-year-old phenom outclassed Brazilian standout Francisco Lo with a submission win via
modified rear-naked choke in their 180-pound non-title catchweight contest at ONE Fight Night 21:
Eersel vs. Nicolas on Prime Video this past weekend.
The April 5 victory raised eyebrows, but the fact that his twin brother, welterweight submission
grappling divisional ruler Tye Ruotolo, hit the same maneuver in his title defense against Izaak
Michell on the same night stunned the audience at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
However, the coordinated finishes were not rehearsed.
“That was definitely not the plan,” Kade said. “After I got that submission against Francisco Lo, I told Tye in the back locker room that I wouldn’t be surprised if he won via the same submission. He’s really good at it. He’s the one that taught me the submission and I just put it out there. I wasn’t 100 percent sure if it would happen, but he ended up doing it so it kind of blew my mind as well.” Now, Ruotolo has his eyes on a new challenge.
Kade Ruotolo Is “Fired Up” For His MMA Debut
Kade Ruotolo has been asking for an MMA fight for some time, and at ONE 167 he’ll get his wish.
The promotion announced that the American submission ace will take on Blake Cooper in a
lightweight MMA contest at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 7.
Now that the news has dropped, Ruotolo can’t hide his excitement.
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“The first week of June, it’s on. I’m super fired up. It’s been a long time coming. I have a tough
opponent in Blake Cooper ahead of me. It will be an amazing matchup,” he said.
“I’ve already watched his last ONE Championship performance. I’m definitely not taking anybody
lightly. He has some heavy hands and good wrestling. He’s a scrapper. Anyone from Hawaii is a
scrapper. I know that for sure, so I’m excited.”
Cooper made his ONE debut this past September, in which the Hawaiian fell to a first-round TKO at
the hands of Maurice Abevi.