SUMMARY
- After submitting Francisco Lo at ONE Fight Night 21, Kade Ruotolo announced his MMA debut.
- It seems like Kade's twin brother and BJJ phenom, Tye Ruotolo is thinking about doing the same as well.
Tye Ruotolo demonstrated the spooky synergy between he and twin brother Kade once again this past weekend. The ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion defended his crown with a modified rear-naked choke, coined the “Ruotolo-tine,” at the 4:43 mark of his bout against Australia’s Izaak Michell at ONE Fight Night 21 on Prime Video on April 5.
During the event, ONE announced that Kade would make his MMA debut at ONE 167. Tye, on the other hand, revealed that he still has goals in submission grappling.
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“I don’t want to sound like a broken record but Nicholas Meregali [is] the only name I want to call out right now. He’s running, taking other matches,” he said. “I was super stoked to be able to take out Izaak Michell, he’s another name added to my list, and I had a good performance against him. Next is Nicholas Meregali. Meregali keeps running.”
Incredibly, lightweight submission grappling divisional king Kade tapped Francisco Lo with the exact same maneuver at the 4:48 mark of their 180-pound catchweight non-title contest earlier in the night – just five seconds removed from the time of his brother’s finish. Now, the brothers in arms could be set to take the MMA world by storm together.
Tye Ruotolo eyes MMA debut
ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo says that he won’t let his twin brother, Kade, have all the glory when he makes his MMA debut. Kade is set to take on Blake Cooper under MMA rules at ONE 167: Stamp vs. Zamboanga on Prime Video on June 7.
When pressed on his own MMA plans, the ever-competitive Tye revealed that he wants to follow suit sooner rather than later.
“My plan is to make my debut by the end of the year or early next year,” he said before adding with a laugh. “My brother and I have always had so much pride in our hearts, and seeing my brother training more and then scrapping, he started getting a little bit better than me and I hate it. I won’t let him get too far ahead.”
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The Ruotolo twins have been utterly dominant since making their ONE Championship debuts in 2022. The 21-year-old phenoms are both a perfect 6-0 on the global stage, including winning the inaugural ONE Submission Grappling World Titles in their respective divisions.