Kade Ruotolo Reveals How “16 Years of Preparation” Led to the Biggest Accomplishment of His Life

It’s been quite a year for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu phenom Kade Ruotolo.

In September, the 19-year-old grappler earned five submissions on the trot to become the youngest-ever ADCC World Champion.

At ONE on Prime Video 3 this past Friday, October 21, Ruotolo showed the same intelligence and aggression. He left the Circle with the inaugural ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title at the expense of Uali Kurzhev.

The American dynamo is pleased with his incredible success, and he credits the amount of time he has put into his craft for it.

Kade Ruotolo’s dedication got him this success

Ruotolo stated, “I think just 16 years of preparation my entire life, you know, I was born and raised on these mats pretty much, and it’s all I know. So just you know, I’m just so thankful for this,”.

The latest chapter in the storied rivalry between BJJ and sambo played out when the two grappling stars went to war inside the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Both wasted no time trying to gain the upper hand, and it resulted in intense action from the opening bell.

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Ruotolo pressured his foe with sweeps and takedowns, but Kurzhev fought it off and attempted to return fire. The Russian could only do so for so long, however, and at the 4:26 mark, Ruotolo sealed his victory with an inside heel hook.

Economic prosperity also followed Kade Ruotolo

With that, he became the promotion’s first-ever lightweight submission grappling World Champion, and he scored a cool US$50,000 performance bonus in the process – both of which stand as two of Ruotolo’s greatest achievements.

“This is one of my biggest accomplishments yet. It’s right there at the top, it’s got to be,” he said.

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Ruotolo also iterated, “To me, ONE is the biggest platform of martial arts. And you know, winning this belt for ONE is right there with my ADCC title. I’m not going to put one over the other, It’s right there with it, and I’m so relieved, so thankful.”