“Whoever Really Wants to Me”: Following His Recent Victory at ONE Fight Night 11, Kade Ruotolo Is Confident to Take On Anyone as His Next Opponent

Kade Ruotolo overcame his most dangerous opponent yet this past weekend at ONE Fight Night 11, and he is inviting anyone to challenge him.

The American grappling phenom outworked Norwegian challenger Tommy Langaker in a highly technical battle in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 11 on Prime Video on Friday, June 9, to retain the ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title. 

The pair of grappling greats needed all 10 minutes of their match to find a winner, though, and they attacked and countered each other to the end, resulting in an entertaining scrap from start to finish.

Kade Ruotolo is all fired up after defeating Tommy Langaker

Ruotolo was deemed more dominant by the judges in the end, and he credited his opponent for his performance while criticizing his own in an interview after the match.

“It was definitely a tough scrap for sure. Tommy was an amazing opponent. I knew he’d be a tough match leading into this. I think in a couple of more minutes, I definitely would have had him. I felt him really fading at the end, getting really tired,” he told ONE Championship.

“I made a handful of mistakes and definitely, lots to fix leading into the next one. So yeah, more so just excited. Anytime I don’t get to submission, I can’t lie – I’m a little disappointed with myself. I’m extremely excited to come back and get that submission. I’m more motivated than ever.”

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The win improves the Atos representative’s record to 4-0 in ONE Championship and further cements his spot as the king of his division. 

Ready for anyone and everyone

With no clear challengers awaiting him, Ruotolo made it clear that he’d open the doors to anyone. 

The 20-year-old knows that being World Champion carries some significant responsibility, and he wants to give competitors a chance to take on the best.

“Whoever excites me. Whoever puts on a really good [performance]. Whoever really wants to me. As I said before, that’s always what motivates me. It’s whoever wants to fight me. Especially when there’s a bit of tension as someone comes at me with, ‘I want Kade Ruotolo,'” he said.

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“Then I’m like, ‘let’s get it.’ That’s the one that I want. So anyone that really wants to [fight me]. There’s not a specific person that I’m really looking for.”