"He might throw him on his head" - Jarred Brooks believes Kade Ruotolo's wrestling could be a problem for Mikey Musumeci
Jarred Brooks believes Mikey Musumeci's prodigious grappling skills and technical wizardry should give him a fighting chance against the bigger Kade Ruotolo. However, as far as 'The Monkey God' is concerned, there's one glaring area that could pose a problem for the flyweight submission grappling world champion.
'Darth Rigatoni' will vie for two-division supremacy when he goes up three weight classes to challenge Ruotolo for the lightweight submission grappling crown at ONE 168: Denver on September 6 at Ball Arena.
As much as Brooks thinks that Musumeci could handle things on the ground, he sees Ruotolo's strength and athletic advantages as a big hurdle to climb for the challenger.
The former ONE strawweight MMA world champion said in an interview with the South China Morning Post:
"It's a very interesting matchup. Is Kade going to take him down? He might throw him on his head, I don't know. Kade is a good wrestler. He has the ADCC [experience]."
Watch Jarred Brooks' full SCMP MMA interview:
In retrospect, Mikey Musumeci did quite well against Brooks' elite wrestling when the two squared off last year.
However, it is worth noting that Ruotolo is much heavier and has been known to use nifty slams, trips, and takedowns in his BJJ arsenal.
Jarred Brooks says Mikey Musumeci could surprise us at ONE 168
Brooks performed admirably in his first foray into submission grappling against Mikey Musumeci at ONE Fight Night 13. 'The Monkey God' eventually succumbed to a triangle choke.
If Kade Ruotolo somehow loses focus, Brooks believes Musmeci could catch him in a similar predicament.
The former strawweight MMA champ added:
"That's a really tough one to call because Mikey will surprise you. He works super hard and he downloads information really well."
Tickets for ONE 168: Denver are available via Ticketmaster.