"It's a whole different world" - Kade Ruotolo bares his excitement for MMA debut vs Blake Cooper

Kade Ruotolo has been longing for his opportunity to test himself out in the all-encompassing sport of MMA, and now he is just weeks away from turning that goal into reality.

The ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion opens his account against Blake Cooper at ONE 167, which emanates live from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 7.

After reaching the very pinnacle of submission grappling, becoming the youngest-ever ADCC world champion, and claiming the ONE world title in 2022, the 21-year-old Atos representative's eagerness to step out of his comfort zone has only grown.

Through his fight camp for Cooper, Kade Ruotolo admits his passion and dedication for the sport of MMA have only continued to flourish with each passing day.

He told ONE Championship:

"Oh man, it's a whole different world, that's for sure. I've been falling in love with it more and more every single day, though. It's something new. It's exhilarating. Not that jiu-jitsu isn't."

While MMA isn't entirely something out of the ordinary for the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, the opportunity to pick up new ways and blend his grappling game into striking or vice versa has kept him on his toes.

All the necessary upgrades should be in place by the time he debuts, and as he has done through his run in submission grappling on the global stage, fans can expect nothing less than a blistering performance from Kade Ruotolo at ONE 167.

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Kade Ruotolo seeks to expand his resume beyond MMA

Whether or not he walks out of the Impact Arena with a win, Kade Ruotolo is fired up to shoot all the way to a world title in MMA.

The 21-year-old phenom even jokingly suggested that he'd be down to test himself in other disciplines in the future if time permits.

During a chat on the Talk-Jitsu Podcast, he offered:

"After MMA, after I achieve my goals and dreams, who knows? Maybe I'll take up a little bit of Jeet Kune Do or whatever it may be next. There's a lot of different martial arts out there that are amazing. I am fascinated by them."

ONE 167 will be available to all active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.