The ONE lightweight grappling champion had a successful transition into MMA after defeating Blake Cooper via rear-naked choke in a lightweight battle.
The match took place at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, June 7. At the beginning of the bout, the impressive Atos Jiu-Jitsu member showcased immense strength and striking power before switching back to his foundation style, grappling. The 21-year-old black belt demonstrated agility and strength by overpowering his opponent and taking him down in the first round.
Ruotolo felt very good about his debut victory and plans to do it again.
“I want to get right back to the MMA realm, to be honest with you. I had so much fun out there tonight. And I honestly want to go back out and do it again.”
Showcasing how he earned his black belt title, the athlete took Cooper to the floor. The Hawaiian wrestled him into a body triangle and locked him into a rear-naked choke that led to a submission. Despite his performance, the athlete believes there are a few things in his techniques he needs to work on.
In a sit down with ONE 167 post-event press conference, Kade Ruotolo revealed:
“I’ve seen a lot of mistakes or just feeling like I did a lot of mistakes on my feet. But, at the same time, I just got that nervous energy, that nervous debut, and I can’t wait to show people what I can do on the feet as well.”
Although there is no immediate date for Ruotolo’s continuation in MMA, the fighter is set to defend his ONE lightweight Submission Grappling World Title against Mikey Musumeci at ONE 168.
