“That would be awesome” - Grappling superstar Kade Ruotolo says he’ll shift focus to MMA in 2025
ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo says that the MMA matches he is having this year are in preparation for more competitions he intends to participate in the multifaceted sport in 2025.
The 21-year-old Atos standout shared this in an interview with the MMA Junkie, which was uploaded on Oct. 28, as he laid down what he is looking to do under ONE Championship for the immediate future.
Ruotolo said:
"Ideally for 2025, if I can get, you know, a bare minimum of three, that would be awesome. If I could get three MMA scraps in and still, you know, defend my jiu-jitsu belt, I think that's be really active here, and I'd be super stoked to get that done yeah."
Check out what he had to say below:
Kade Ruotolo made his MMA debut back in June against fellow American fighter Blake Cooper. He made short work of his Hawaii-based opponent, who he stopped by submission (rear-naked choke) in the opening round.
He looks to sustain the momentum from the win when he competes again in MMA in his next match on Nov. 8 at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug in Thailand. There, he will take on veteran mixed martial artist Ahmed Mujtaba in a lightweight MMA clash.
ONE 169 will take place at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and air live and for free in U.S. primetime with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Kade Ruotolo says MMA push part of his quest to be the best martial artist he can be
Kade Ruotolo is determined to build on his MMA journey further as part of his push to be the best martial artist that he can be.
He shared this in the same interview with the MMA Junkie, highlighting how at this point of his growing professional career, he wants to expand his horizon as a fighter and continuously test his abilities.
The California-based fighter said:
"In order to be one of the best martial artists of all time, you got to do it all right, jiu-jitsu, wrestling, MMA, striking, boxing ... all these different martial arts, you know?"
Kade Ruotolo got his MMA journey in ONE Championship to a winning start back in June, defeating Blake Cooper by submission in the opening round. He stays in the MMA lane for his next match on Nov. 8 at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug.