WATCH: Kade Ruotolo’s tense submission chess match against BJJ world champ Tommy Langaker

Kade Ruotolo, Tommy Langaker | Image courtesy of ONE

At ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs. Menshikov last year, ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo made a successful second defense of his world title. The 20-year-old grappling savant pulled off a thrilling performance against Tommy Langaker to earn a solid unanimous decision win.

The bout was a back-and-forth battle that saw Ruotolo mount a late comeback to narrowly edge his Norwegian challenger. Needless to say, the bout kept everyone on the edge of their seats as we witnessed the young BJJ black belt make a blazing comeback like a Hollywood action star.

ONE Championship uploaded a throwback post of the bout on Instagram:

ONE Championship has produced a lot of exciting submission grappling matches in 2023 but very few matched the intensity and nail-biting excitement generated by Kade Ruotolo's world title defense against Tommy Langaker that night. Here's to hoping that both grapplers produce more of these kinds of battles in 2024.

ONE Championship names Kade Ruotolo vs. Tommy Langaker Submission Grappling Match of the Year

Unsurprisingly, ONE Championship named Ruotolo vs. Langaker the best of the bunch of 2023's long list of exciting submission grappling matches. There's Danielle Kelly vs. Ayaka Miura, Tye Ruotolo vs. Dagi Arslanaliev, Mikey Musumeci vs. Jarred Brooks, and the list goes on.

But none topped the level of heart-stopping action produced by the ultra-aggressive Kade Ruotolo and the gutsy Tommy Langaker.

Ruotolo had to overcome adversity early courtesy of a frightening heel hook by Langaker. The defending world champion frantically rolled around to escape the tight submission hold.

From there, we saw a back-and-forth grappling brawl where Rutolo increasingly pressed the action with his dizzying Jiujitsu technique. Langaker, on the other hand, marvelously defended nearly every attack the world champion threw his way.

With a mere three minutes left in the fight and still behind on point, Ruotolo attempted a nasty-looking Estima lock that brought him back in the race and ultimately gave him the judges' nod.