Twin grappling superstars Kade and Tye Ruotolo have had a golden run in ONE Championship so far, and they’ll be hoping to continue that trend at ONE Fight Night 21: Eersel vs. Nicolas on Prime Video.
The 21-year-old World Champions will share the spotlight at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 5 as Tye puts his ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Title on the line against Australian standout Izaak Michell, while lightweight submission grappling divisional king Kade faces Brazilian submission artist Francisco Lo in a non-title 180-pound catchweight contest.
Their competitive journeys have been intertwined from day one when they began their Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training at just 3 years old. Together, the BJJ black belts have been hugely successful in the sport and, in a recent interview, Kade told of the influence they’ve had on each other’s careers.
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“There are so many things [that Tye did to help me], from just the everyday scraps, the hour-long fights that we’ve just had in the garage until [someone] taps,” Kade said. “Every war that we’ve ever had has really grown us into the athletes that we are today. We wouldn’t even be close to where we’re at without each other.”
Now, they’re going into battle in ONE Championship together for the third time.
What happens when Kade and Tye Ruotolo fight on the same card?
Kade and Tye Ruotolo have not lost when they’ve shared the same card on the global stage of ONE Championship. The twins announced themselves in a big way when they made their respective debuts at ONE 157 in 2022.
Kade was first to make the walk in a historic night for the sport of submission grappling. He dominated Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki over 10 minutes to take out a clear-cut unanimous decision win. Tye immediately followed suit, needing just 87 seconds to submit grappling star and MMA standout Garry Tonon with his signature D’Arce choke.
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The Ruotolos repeated the feat at ONE Fight Night 5 in December of the same year. This time, Tye took to the Circle first and submitted former ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Marat Gafurov with an armbar after five minutes of action.
Kade then defended his newly minted ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title with another clinical performance against ultra-tough Brazilian Matheus Gabriel. While they’ll be looking to make it three for three at ONE Fight Night 21, ONE’s superstar brothers both remain undefeated in their five appearances overall under the ONE banner.