“Be the double champ” - Lightweight submission grappling king Kade Ruotolo bares his plans for MMA gold this 2024

Ambition pushes even the greatest combat sports athlete to break through their limits, and few others have as much ambition in ONE Championship as that of Kade Ruotolo.

Fans most recently saw Ruotolo compete inside the Ariake Arena as part of ONE Championship’s return to Japan with ONE 165 against long-time rival Tommy Langaker.

After a grueling 10-minute matchup, Ruotolo emerged victorious to retain his ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship despite Langaker’s best attempts at trying to replicate his past success in their first matchup back in June 2023.

This win marked the third successful defense in a row for Ruotolo and is setting his sights on a new goal for the rest of the year.

As he was walking back to the changing rooms, Ruotolo revealed to ONE Championship in an Instagram video about his plans to become a ONE MMA world champion:

“I just want to go ahead and make my [MMA] debut and be the double champ. That’s been a huge goal of mine. And by the end of this year, that’s my plan: get the double belt.”

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Ruotolo twins gunning for MMA debuts

Kade Ruotolo’s twin brother, ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye, has also been particularly vocal about trying his hand at MMA and originally targeted a debut in 2023, but that did not come to fruition.

MMA will certainly be a more demanding combat sport for the ONE submission grappling world championship-winning siblings, though it is interesting that they want to expand their horizons.

With a bright future ahead of them, the Ruotolo twins would certainly want to be the best well-rounded athletes in the world, and if they are looking for an example, they need not look further as Japanese legend Shinya Aoki could very well be someone they can emulate.