"I'm a fighter" - Grappling superstar Kade Ruotolo gets candid on why he wanted to transition to mixed martial arts

Kade Ruotolo is looking to prove himself at ONE 167 when he makes his long-awaited MMA debut.

The ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion believes that what he may lack in experience, he more than makes up for with his mentality.

As always, the big question for anyone who is stepping into MMA is going to be whether they have what it takes to battle the adversity and danger of the sport.

Kade clearly has the grappling side of the sport on lockdown and he's been working hard on his striking for some time now.

But what happens when strikes start flying and it becomes a battle of wills?

The elite grappler believes that he will thrive in this situation because of his love for this exact kind of test and confrontation.

In a recent interview with ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson, Kade said that he may be an elite jiu-jitsu competitor but he is a fighter at heart:

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"I honestly think I fought so many times for free with my brother, I wanna get paid now! I love fighting, I'm a fighter. I love jiu-jitsu, but I just don't feel like it's a fight. It's a match, it's not a fight."

Watch the full interview below:

Kade Ruotolo won't back down from a challenge

If there's one thing that ONE Championship fans have learned about the mentality of Kade Ruotolo during his time in the promotion, it's that he isn't going to back down from a challenge.

The grappling prodigy, and his twin brother Tye, are always looking for new ways to test themselves under the brightest lights.

For Kade, his step into MMA has been a long time coming but it is finally here on June 7 at the Impact Arena where he takes on Blake Cooper.

ONE 167 will air live in US prime time and is free to watch for North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.

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