Kade Ruotolo admires Henry Cejudo for making a slick transition from wrestling to MMA: “I think it's amazing”
Kade Ruotolo revealed he was "a big fan" of Henry Cejudo due to the similarities in their combat sports careers.
Over the last six months, Ruotolo started his journey in professional MMA with two wins, both first-round submissions. The 21-year-old plans to continue evolving and overcome the honorable challenge of becoming a simultaneous world champion in a non-striking sport (submission grappling) and MMA.
During an appearance on 'The Ariel Helwani Show,' Ruotolo discussed a former UFC champion, Henry Cejudo, who endured a similar path. Cejudo is an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling who transitioned into a world-class MMA fighter.
Ruotolo had this to say about Cejudo's journey:
"I was a big fan of [Henry] Cejudo for the fact that he went from wrestling to MMA you know and if you can accomplish all these different things I think it's amazing."
Kade Ruotolo made his highly-anticipated professional MMA debut on June 7, defeating Blake Cooper by first-round submission (rear-naked choke). At last Friday's ONE 169, the reigning lightweight submission grappling world champion secured a similar result against Ahmed Mujtaba (first-round D'arce choke).
The full replay of ONE 169: Malykhin vs Reug Reug, including Ruotolo's USD 50,000 performance-bonus-winning submission against Mujtaba, is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
Watch Ruotolo's entire appearance on 'The Ariel Helwani Show' below:
Kade Ruotolo set up for another calendar year filled with opportunities
Kade Ruotolo's 2024 calendar year featured two professional MMA wins, two submission grappling wins, and a $1 million winning outing at the Craig Jones Invitational. Heading into 2025, Ruotolo could potentially accomplish more than the last twelve months.
Firstly, Ruotolo is expected to compete in next year's Craig Jones Invitational, giving him another opportunity to win $1 million. The 21-year-old is also expected to defend his ONE lightweight submission grappling world title at least once.
As for MMA, Ruotolo has voiced his interest in prioritizing the sport. Considering his latest impressive performance, the American superstar could find himself competing for the ONE lightweight MMA world title sooner than expected.
Ruotolo enters 2025 with promotional records of 6-0 in submission grappling and 2-0 in MMA.
Watch Ruotolo submit Mujtaba at ONE 169 below: