“That’s the reason we’re so tough” - Kade Ruotolo says brotherhood with twin Tye polished his innate toughness
There's a reason why twin brothers Tye and Kade Ruotolo reached unprecedented success in the world of professional submission grappling.
The brothers collected world titles across multiple organizations and are now reigning atop their respective divisions in ONE Championship.
In an interview on the Jaxxon Podcast, Kade Ruotolo discussed how his entire childhood with Tye led to them practically developing an insane toughness that eventually translated to martial arts.
As brothers and twins, the two were immediate training partners in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and instant sparring partners during unsupervised fist fights with one another.
Kade Ruotolo said:
"The amount that my brother toughened me up, and vice versa, it's ridiculous. That's the reason we're so tough. [Those fist fights] were so even. Like every day we're switching."
Those brotherly fights with one another led to both brothers reaching the pinnacle of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and submission grappling.
Kade is the ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion and an ADCC world champion, while Tye is at a division above as the ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion and an IBJJF world champion.
Both brothers are also coming off huge wins in their last matches in ONE Championship. Kade submitted Francisco Lo in their 180-pound catchweight matchup at ONE Fight Night 21, while Tye defended his world title when he submitted Izaak Michell on the same card.
Watch the entire interview below:
Kade Ruotolo hyped up for impending MMA debut
Kade Ruotolo has undoubtedly amassed a resume worthy of envy in submission grappling, and he's now setting his sights on mixed martial arts.
The ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion will face American brawler Blake Cooper in his MMA debut at ONE 167 on June 7 at Impact Arena.
After his win over Lo at ONE Fight Night 21, Ruotolo said in his post-fight interview how he'll bring the fight to Cooper in Bangkok:
"It's gonna be an absolutely massive matchup. I've just been anticipating this so much, my MMA debut. It's something that I really wanted to be doing. I'm so stoked that it's happening, finally."
ONE 167 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.