“He wants all the blood” - Kade Ruotolo says twin brother Tye is ripping for MMA debut
ONE lightweight submission grappling king Kade Ruotolo said twin brother and fellow world champion Tye Ruotolo is gearing up for his long-awaited MMA debut and is out to make it an impressive one.
The 21-year-old Atos standout shared this in an interview with The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, highlighting how like him, Tye is also not one to shy from continuously challenging himself and getting out of his comfort zone.
Kade Ruotolo said:
"He's (Tye) just as mentally tough. He wants all the blood just as much as me. So for sure we got these two next big jiu-jitsu opportunities and this year he's gonna be making his MMA debut. I reckon for sure with ONE as well, we have our contracts to fulfill there."
Watch the interview below:
Kade Ruotolo recently made his MMA debut at ONE 167 on Prime Video on June 7, defeating fellow American fighter Blake Cooper by submisison (rear-naked choke) in the opening round.
Tye, the reigning ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion, meanwhile, will see action on July 5 at ONE Fight Night 23: Ok vs Rasulov on Prime Video in a catchweight (186 lbs) submission grappling clash against Jozef Chen of South Africa.
ONE Fight Night 23, which will take place at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, will be available live and for free to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Kade Ruotolo eyeing MMA gold
By going into MMA, Kade Ruotolo is not looking at it as just a side endeavor as he has also plans of vying for a world title at some point.
The ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion revealed this to the promotion in an Instagram back in January, saying that among his goals for this year was to make his MMA debut, which was a long-sought target for him, and be a double champion by yearend.
He said:
"I just want to go ahead and make my [MMA] debut and be the double champ. That's been a huge goal of mine. And by the end of this year, that's my plan: get the double belt."
Check out the video post below:
It remains to be seen if Ruotolo does get an MMA belt by the end of the year but he did make a winning MMA debut in his last match on June 7 at ONE 167 on Prime Video, defeating Blake Cooper by submission in the opening round.