"He can leglock anyone in the world" - Kade Ruotolo understands the dangers that Mikey Musumeci brings at ONE 168
ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo admits he wasn't exactly looking for a scrap against the smaller Mikey Musumeci.
Still, despite their size discrepancy, the 21-year-old agreed that it would be foolish to count out 'Darth Rigatoni' when they share the Circle at ONE 168: Denver.
Every grappling fan's dream fight will come to fruition on September 6 at Ball Arena, when two of the greatest submission specialists in the world lock horns.
Musumeci, the reigning flyweight submission grappling king, will move three divisions in a bid to conquer two weight classes.
Kade Ruotolo, of course, hasn't met an adversary he couldn't beat in the home of martial arts. After a 6-0 start in grappling-exclusive matches, the Atos stud recently made a triumphant MMA debut with a first-round finish of Blake Cooper at ONE 167.
Now, he'll be taking on arguably the most technically sound challenger in Musumeci, who's also unbeaten in ONE in seven bouts.
In a recent interview with fellow ONE world champion Demetrious Johnson on his MightyCast podcast, Ruotolo explained what makes Musumeci a dangerous challenger:
"He can leg-lock anyone in the world. Someone with those finishing mechanics, if he gets on your legs, he can finish anyone. So it still excites me in a way. I'm ready for it. I'm excited."
Musumeci is indeed one of the most innovative leg-lockers in the game right now, evidenced by his nasty calf-slicer finish of Gabriel Sousa last week.
The replay of ONE 167 is available free for Prime Video subscribers in North America. The same goes for ONE 168: Denver, which will air live on US Primetime.
Kade Ruotolo acknowledges Mikey Musumeci's greatness
In the same conversation with DJ, Kade Ruotolo said he's honored to take on an opponent of Musumeci's caliber.
The lightweight submission grappling king stated:
"A lot of people consider him pound-for-pound one of the greatest. He's had a lot of amazing wins over a lot of amazing people."
Apart from Sousa, Musumeci does hold victories over the likes of Shinya Aoki, Jarred Brooks, and Osamah Almarwai, among other notable names.
Watch the full interview, here: