WATCH: Kade Ruotolo busts out unreal athleticism in ONE Championship debut against Japanese legend Shinya Aoki

ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo made a name for himself in ONE Championship when he went toe-to-toe with Japanese legend Shinya Aoki in his promotional debut at ONE 157 in May 2022.

Being 20 years younger than the former ONE lightweight MMA world champion, Ruotolo took the fight to 'Tobikan Judan' and forced Aoki to wear himself out from defending his attacks. This strategy worked perfectly as Ruotolo won by unanimous decision.

Watch the highlights of their bout, which ONE posted on YouTube:

In October that same year, Ruotolo submitted four-time sambo world champion Uali Kurzhev to become the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion.

The 21-year-old has since been undefeated in six submission grappling bouts. He made his hotly anticipated MMA debut at ONE 167 this past June, where he submitted Blake Cooper via rear-naked choke midway through round one.

Ruotolo will be gunning for his second MMA win when he clashes with Pakistani standout Ahmed Mujtaba at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. 'Reug Reug' on Nov. 8 inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Kade Ruotolo eyeing two-sport dominance in ONE Championship

Kade Ruotolo wants to become the first athlete in ONE history to hold 26 pounds of submission grappling and MMA gold, simultaneously.

Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Ruotolo shared:

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"I want to become the best [at MMA]. I want to become the champion. In everything I do, I have this delusion where I want to become the best at it, so that's always the goal."

Watch the interview below:

ONE 169 will air live from the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The event will be free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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