“We grew up doing that all the time” - Kade Ruotolo reflects on early ‘arguments’ with twin brother Tye
Tye and Kade Ruotolo are no doubt the hottest sibling duo in all combat sports right now. Both are current submission grappling world champions in ONE Championship.
Despite all the success that they are enjoying right now, Kade revealed that they are just like other brothers, who had several arguments growing up.
In his recent guest appearance on the Jaxxon Podcast, Kade Ruotolo narrated one example of these disagreements. He said:
"I remember this one time. It was my brother's first girlfriend. He just started dating this chick and I was just talking so much shit. Because we spent so much time together there, so I was just used to it. I said something that just lit a fire. I've never seen that look in his eyes before. He starts chasing me so I'm kind of laughing."
The BJJ phenom added that this incident caused a fight between them, where he was on the receiving end of a solid punch and a tight choke:
"We make our way to the bedroom and he corners me and just throws a huge overhand right. I curled up and takes me down and he just goes straight to [choking] me. I don't know how he got there that quick. Straight to my throat, and I was posted up to the wall. I was trying to break his grip. Like Darth Vader the force grip. As strong as it gets, and I'm like seeing the light. I'm tapping but he's not letting go so I'm just trying to pry his fingers out. We grew up doing that all the time, man."
Both Atos representatives are coming off victories in their recent bouts under the world's largest martial arts organization. They pulled off an almost similar submission technique at ONE Fight Night 21.
Kade Ruotolo submitted Francisco Lo via 'Ruotolo-tine' in their 180-pound catchweight match, while Tye did the same with Izaak Michell to successfully defend his 26-pound golden belt for the first time.
Kade and Tye Ruotolo will switch weight classes for the 2024 ADCC Worlds
Kade Ruotolo also stated that he and Tye will be switching divisions in the upcoming ADCC Submission Fighting World Championships 2024 in August. This will be done to make way for a potential championship run for Tye in the lower weight class.
The 21-year-old American champion will be making his MMA debut on June 7 against Blake Cooper at ONE 167 inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
This will be Kade Ruotolo's first step in making a potential world title run in the all-encompassing discipline.
ONE 167 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America in U.S. primetime on June 7.