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ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo doesn't see anything wrong with fighters receiving Brazilian jiu-jitsu belt promotions after winning their MMA matches.
However, the 21-year-old BJJ savant thinks it's only fitting to receive such honor if actual grappling was involved in the said victory.
Appearing as a guest on Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson's Jaxxon Podcast, Ruotolo entertained plenty of questions about the growing submission grappling scene.
Among those is the controversial practice of some coaches who award belts, regardless if their athlete actually deserves the promotion.
Here's what the Atos stud had to say about the matter:
"Nah, I think it's cool, especially if they used their jiu-jitsu in the fight. But if he knocks the fighter out, and gets a black belt after the fight, that's like let him get his moment a little bit. I feel like it's different. It's one thing if you choke the guy and jiu-jitsu won him the match. I gotta give it to you. But if jiu-jitsu didn't win you the match, then I don't think you should get promoted after."
In hindsight, getting promoted in an MMA match is basically the same equivalent of receiving a new belt after podium finishes in a jiu-jitsu tournament.
It's quite the norm in the BJJ community and considered one of the highest honors in the game.
As Kade Ruotolo can attest, those promotions are made much sweeter especially if you earned it the hard way.
Kade Ruotolo says most grapplers set aside their BJJ after moving to MMA
Ahead of his highly anticipated MMA debut at ONE 167 against Blake Cooper, Ruotolo talked about the biggest mistake his fellow BJJ athletes often make.
The youngest ADCC world champion promised to embrace his roots once he finally dons the four-ounce gloves. He said on the Jaxxon Podcast:
"They're working on their other tools and they start to forget about their jiu-jitsu as much. In jiu-jitsu, if you're not training a lot it's easy to be rusty and to really not have those positions in lock."
ONE 167 will air live in US primetime on June 7 from Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. Prime Video subscribers in North America can stream the entire event free of charge.
Here's Kade Ruotolo's full interview on the Jaxxon Podcast:
