“They are in great hands” - Jarred Brooks stacks praise on Tye and Kade Ruotolo’s evolving arsenal under Erik Paulson
Jarred Brooks believes BJJ duo Tye and Kade Ruotolo will do just fine in MMA under the tutelage of combat sports legend Erik Paulson.
Making their debuts on the same night in May 2022, the Ruotolo brothers immediately established themselves as the next big thing in the world of submission grappling with a pair of wins over 'The Lion Killer' Garry Tonon and Japanese MMA icon Shinya Aoki.
Since then, Kade Ruotolo has made the move to mixed martial arts, strapping on the four-ounce gloves for a clash with Blake Cooper at ONE 167. Ruotolo came out on top, scoring a first-round rear-naked choke submission.
Speaking on the Ruotolo brothers' dream of being dual-sport superstars, 'The Monkey God' suggested that the pair are already on the right track by working with Paulson—a pioneer in the MMA industry and former Shooto world champion in Japan.
"Erik Paulson, he’s definitely one of the founding fathers of martial arts in catch-wrestling," Brooks said in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA. "And I think Kade and Tye, the Ruotolos, they are in great hands to continue their martial arts journey into mixed martial arts with him.
"It seems that their styles are already ready for that MMA transition and that showed when Kade made his MMA debut. He looked pretty decent in his striking there, too."
Jarred Brooks gunning for interim gold in ONE Fight Night 24 main event on August 2
After dipping his toe into the world of MMA, Kade Ruotolo will return to BJJ on Friday, September 6, when he defends his ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship against current flyweight titleholder Mikey Musumeci at ONE 168: Denver.
But first, ONE Championship will head back to the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok for a loaded ONE Fight Night 24 card on Amazon Prime Video. In the main event of the evening, Jarred Brooks will square off with streaking Cuban fan favorite Gustavo Balart for the interim ONE strawweight MMA world title.
Brooks will look to once again wrap 26 pounds of gold around his waist after a devastating disqualification resulted in him handing back the undisputed strawweight MMA crown to Joshua Pacio at ONE 166 in Qatar.
Meanwhile, Balart has put together an impressive four-fight win streak and is primed to claim his first ONE world title inside the Mecca of Muay Thai.
ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE Fight Night 24 live and for free via Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime on Friday, August 2.