“I’d be lying if I said anything otherwise” - Kade Ruotolo says he’ll submit Mikey Musumeci in Denver super fight
Don't let the pleasant atmosphere between them fool you, Kade Ruotolo is gunning for a submission finish over Mikey Musumeci.
Ruotolo will defend his ONE lightweight submission grappling world title over Musumeci, the ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion, at ONE 168: Denver on Sept. 6 at Ball Arena.
Ahead of this massive super fight, Ruotolo told Ariel Helwani in an interview at The MMA Hour that he intends to submit Musumeci when they're locked inside the Circle in Denver.
Kade Ruotolo said:
"I think I'll get the submission. I'd be lying if I said anything otherwise."
Ruotolo and Musumeci have identical 7-0 records in ONE Championship, but the ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion has one mixed martial arts match in his promotional run.
Musumeci is coming off a heated submission win over old nemesis Gabriel Sousa at ONE 167 this past June.
'Darth Rigatoni' didn't waste time and submitted Sousa with a nasty calf slicer a little over three minutes into their 10-minute duel.
As for Ruotolo, the American star had an astounding MMA debut when he submitted Blake Cooper in the same Bangkok card at Impact Arena.
Although he opted to use his striking early in the match, Ruotolo eventually turned to his BJJ base and submitted Cooper with a rear-naked choke in the opening round.
Kade Ruotolo itching for another MMA match after his world title defense against Mikey Musumeci
While he's not looking past Mikey Musumeci, Kade Ruotolo gets hyped with the prospect of another MMA fight.
Ruotolo looked as natural as anyone when he sported the four-ounce gloves against Blake Cooper in Bangkok at ONE 167, and he's ready to unleash his full arsenal once more.
In the same interview with Helwani, Ruotolo said he hopes to join ONE Championship's second US card this year at ONE 169: Atlanta on Nov. 8 at State Farm Arena.
"Absolutely, for sure. I'm trying to get on a card as soon as possible. We got a couple of big jiu-jitsu things lined up. We got that September card in Colorado for ONE Championship, so [I'm] going to be on that. But hopefully, after that, I'll put the gloves back on and I think there's a November card."