“It’s a sour moment” – Tommy Langaker admits razor-close loss to Kade Ruotolo still stings to this day

Norwegian grappling ace Tommy Langaker seeks to rid the sting that his loss to ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo inflicted when they collide in a rematch this weekend.

The 29-year-old Haugesund native will re-engage with Ruotolo at ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru on Sunday, January 28 in Tokyo, Japan. He will make another go at the lightweight grappling world title.

Langaker took a first stab at the world title last June, in a fight that was frenetic right from the opening bell. The challenger put the reigning champion to some tough positions early on that had fight fans at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium at the edge of their seats.

But Ruotolo eventually found his groove and was able to turn things around with his aggressive guard pass and tough holds on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Tommy Langaker spoke of the defeat and how it influenced his mindset heading into the rematch. He said:

“It really does suck, and it’s a sour moment. But, you know, I’ve had many losses in my career, so I try not to dwell too much on it.”

Ruotolo-Langaker II is the co-headlining match at ONE 165, which is bannered by the title clash for the ONE flyweight kickboxing world title between reigning champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 and Japanese superstar Takeru Segawa.

ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru will take place at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo and air live on Sunday, January 28, via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.

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Kade Ruotolo admits having a tough time against Tommy Langaker first time around

ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo acknowledged that he had a hard time against Tommy Langaker the first time they squared off in the ring. It was something he said he already expected heading into the contest.

21-year-old champion Ruotolo was taken to the limit by Norwegian challenger Langaker in their first title clash. While he came away with a unanimous decision victory, the American grappling phenom admitted it did not come easy.

He shared this immediately at the post-fight interview, saying:

“It was definitely a tough scrap for sure. Tommy was an amazing opponent. I knew he'd be a tough match leading into this.”

Given the way their first encounter went down, there is every reason to believe that Ruotolo can expect the same from Tommy Langaker in their scheduled rematch at ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru.

It is something, however, that the reigning champion said he will be ready for.