“This makes him very dangerous” - Francisco Lo says Kade Ruotolo’s unrelenting aggression separates him from the field
Much has been said of Kade Ruotolo's generational talent, and his next opponent Francisco Lo has a theory as to why the American star is often considered a cut above the current crop of submission grapplers.
Lo will face the reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion in a non-title 180-pound catchweight non-title match at ONE Fight Night 21.
The fight marks the Brazilian star's ONE Championship debut, which goes down on April 5, US primetime, at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
Lo, in an interview with the promotion, pointed out that Ruotolo is an offensive master and would stop at nothing to secure a submission attempt every chance he gets.
"What makes him so dangerous are the attacks he makes, he's always looking for the submission. I think this makes him very dangerous and different from other jiu-jitsu athletes," said Francisco Lo.
Ruotolo did prove Lo's point in every match he fought in ONE Championship.
The American star owns a perfect 5-0 record, four of which came in world title matches.
While some BJJ fighters instinctively pull guard to start their offense, Ruotolo does the complete opposite.
Ruotolo will hand-fight until he gets his opponent to the ground or just shoot for a massive takedown slam, a maneuver he pulled off in his world title defense against Matheus Gabriel at ONE on Prime Video 5.
Francisco Lo ready to pull off stunner at ONE Fight Night 21
Francisco Lo has slowly carved a growing notoriety in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu circle, but a win over Kade Ruotolo in ONE Championship could become his golden ticket to unprecedented success.
The 23-year-old told the promotion that he already planned a submission sequence that he'd want to pull off against Ruotolo in Bangkok.
Lo said:
"I'm not going to say what the submission will be, but I already have it in mind, and I'm very excited, just waiting for the day of the fight to arrive."
ONE Fight Night 21, like all of ONE Championship's Amazon cards, is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.