Lightweight submission grappling king Kade Ruotolo says BJJ artists often “get drunk in striking” when they transition to MMA
Kade Ruotolo believes it's quite difficult to single out the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist who transitioned into mixed martial arts.
It's not uncommon for BJJ practitioners to jump into MMA, and it's a career move that Ruotolo is bound to make in a few months' time.
Ruotolo, however, pointed out that some BJJ artists tend to forget their roots once they transition to the multi-faceted sport.
In an interview on the Jaxxon Podcast, the reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion said some BJJ artists fall in love with striking and practically ditch their martial arts foundation.
Kade Ruotolo said:
"It's tough to say [who has the best BJJ in MMA right now] because you have this pattern of super high-level jiu-jitsu guys moving to MMA, and they kind of get lost in the art. They get drunk in striking, and you see their jiu-jitsu just fade over time."
While it became a trend for some BJJ artists to prioritize their striking when they arrived in MMA, submission grappling legends such as Garry Tonon and Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida still favor their ground game.
Tonon, a six-time BJJ world champion, is 9-1 in his MMA career and seven of his wins have come via submission.
Almeida is a 17-time BJJ world champion and is considered the greatest BJJ artist of all time. 'Buchecha' is 4-1 in his young MMA career and has three first-round submission wins to his name.
Watch Ruotolo's entire interview below:
Kade Ruotolo is ready for his MMA debut
Kade Ruotolo has spent the entirety of his professional career in submission grappling, but he'll leap to MMA on June 7 when he faces Blake Cooper at ONE 167 at Impact Arena.
Ahead of his MMA debut, Ruotolo talked about his excitement to face Cooper in Bangkok.
Ruotolo told Sportskeeda MMA:
"I'm pumped for it. You know, he's a beast, for sure. The entire Cooper family, you know, they're a family of legends. A lot of respect for them coming out of Hawaii, you know, there are some scrappers out there, for sure. And, you know, I'm extremely confident and excited."
ONE 167 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.