"I grew up wrestling" - Kade Ruotolo says fans should not sleep on his underrated wrestling skills ahead of MMA debut
Reigning and undisputed ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo of the United States is all but geared up to make his professional mixed martial arts debut this June.
The 21-year-old jiu-jitsu phenom is set to face fellow American Blake Cooper at ONE 167: Stamp vs. Zamboanga on Prime Video. The event broadcasts live from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday, June 7th.
Naturally, a lot of questions about Ruotolo's ability to mix striking with grappling have come up. But there's another facet of his game that the grappling champ says fans should not overlook -- his wrestling.
Speaking on a recent guest appearance on the Jaxxon Podcast, Ruotolo talked about his wrestling, which is a key element of his skill set.
The 21-year-old star said:
"In the most humble way possible, I think it's pretty good. I love wrestling. I grew up wrestling, too. My whole life with my brother, we always dabbled in high school wrestling classes."
Of course, that's putting it lightly. The Ruotolo brothers' wrestling is a major reason for why they are so successful in the submission grappling world. And as long as Kade can combine his wrestling, with the Muay Thai and BJJ skills he has currently, there is no reason to doubt he will go far in this sport.
Kade Ruotolo not underestimating Blake Cooper: "I'm definitely not taking anybody lightly"
Making the transition to mixed martial arts is like traversing into uncharted territory. As such, the young Kade Ruotolo knows not to underestimate any opponent, especially one like Blake Cooper.
Cooper comes from a long line of MMA fighters, and will stop at nothing to spoil Ruotolo's MMA debut and take the glory for himself.
Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Ruotolo said he will not look past Cooper in his next fight:
"I've already watched his last ONE Championship performance. I'm definitely not taking anybody lightly."
Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action of ONE 167: Stamp vs. Zamboanga live and absolutely free on Amazon Prime Video.