FREE FULL FIGHT: Kade Ruotolo shows off his chops in blistering ONE debut against Japanese legend Shinya Aoki

Reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo showed ONE Championship fans he could hang with the best when he faced the legendary Shinya Aoki in his promotional debut in May 2022.

Ruotolo, then just 19 years old, was in complete control of the bout right from the opening bell as he constantly threatened to submit the former ONE lightweight MMA world champion. He eventually won via unanimous decision.

Watch Kade Ruotolo's ONE debut in its entirety below, as shared by ONE on YouTube:

After upending the Japanese icon, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) phenom won the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship in October 2022 by submitting Uali Kurzhev with a heel hook.

Ruotolo posted four more wins, including three successful defenses of the lightweight submission grappling crown, to go undefeated through six bouts under the ONE banner.

The Atos product's most recent outing inside the cage was at ONE 167 this past June, where he earned a submission victory in his MMA debut against Blake Cooper to push his overall ONE record to a perfect 7-0.

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Kade Ruotolo prepared to deal with Mikey Musumeci's all-out offense at ONE 168

Kade Ruotolo will defend the ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship against ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci in the co-main event of ONE 168: Denver on Sept. 6 inside the Ball Arena.

Speaking with ONE Championship, the BJJ megastar outlined his path to victory over 'Darth Rigatoni,' saying:

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"So some people may view that (Musumeci's skills) as more technical. Like sticking to his guns and sticking to his techniques. Or it's his strategy, maybe. And some people may view it as my game is more technical as trying to explore every route to victory, either with passing, submitting from the guard, or from the top."

Tickets for ONE 168 are available via Ticketmaster.

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