Kade Ruotolo started the fight with a kick in his mixed martial arts debut as he took on Blake Cooper on the main card of ONE 167.
The American BJJ phenom looked poised and confident in his striking. While one would have predicted an immediate takedown or an urgency to take the fight to the ground, that wasn’t the case as Kade Ruotolo not only showed great striking and landed some lethal knees during the clinch, but the moment the fight was on the ground, it only took less than a minute for the BJJ prodigy to submit Blake Cooper with a rear naked choke to win his MMA debut in the first round.
“I feel amazing. It just feels so great.” Ruotolo said after the fight, dedicating his victory to his late grandfather.
For his impressive performance, Kade Ruotolo received a bonus of a whopping $50k, marking the fourth such instance in his ONE Championship career.
Kade Ruotolo is scheduled to take on Mikey Musumeci next
They might be fighting on the same card at ONE 167, but at ONE 168, Kade Ruotolo and Mikey Musumeci will square off against each other for the Lightweight Submission Grappling World Championship on September 6.
“I’m excited for that one.” Ruotolo said after the fight. Musumeci will move up a weight class, regardless of the result against Gabriel Sousa. He defends his Bantamweight Submission Grappling World Championship against the Brazilian legend tonight at ONE 167.