"His body doesn't allow him to go lighter" - Kade Ruotolo reveals why twin brother Tye now has a bigger frame than him
Brazilian jiu-jitsu's wonder twins Tye and Kade Ruotolo obviously share many things biologically. While their world-class skills and incredible physiques are pretty much identical, it appears Tye has slightly gotten bigger than Kade over the years.
It's certainly a logical choice for the brothers to be in separate divisions. Tye, for his part, is the ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion, while Kade lords over the weight class below at lightweight.
As it turns out, it was also due to Tye's drastic weight cut during their teenage years, which permanently altered the composition of his body.
Kade Ruotolo revealed this in an appearance on the Beasts with Brains podcast with Alex Wendling:
"I think it was the first-ever ADCC that my brother and I competed in. It was in 2019 ADCC, we were 16 back then. At the time, I think we were around 170 or 175 pounds and he cut to the 66kg division which is 145 pounds. It was a massive weight cut for him, and it was also a three-day weight-checking system. It was one of the most tiring things he's ever done."
The youngest ADCC world champion continued:
"From that moment he was 145 pounds but two days after the event he was like 180. His body just said never again am I getting that small. After that, his body just doesn't allow him to go lighter. [The weight] skyrockets so quick up, and he's like I'm never getting that small again."
Tye and Kade Ruotolo have taken the grappling world by storm
The Ruotolo twins are indeed grappling's youngest veterans and have already reached the pinnacle of the sport at just 21 years old.
Kade recently took his talents to MMA for the first time and succeeded with flying colors with a first-round finish of Blake Cooper at ONE 167 last month.
He'll return to submission grappling and will defend his lightweight crown against Mikey Musumeci at ONE 168: Denver in September.
Tye, on the other hand, also kept his pristine ONE record intact with a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Jozef Chen at ONE Fight Night 23.
The replay of ONE Fight Night 23 is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in North America.
Tickets for ONE 168: Denver on September 6 at Ball Arena, meanwhile, are available via Ticketmaster.