Kade Ruotolo praises ‘strong’ and ‘flexible’ Tommy Langaker ahead of ONE Fight Night 11 battle

Kade Ruotolo knows his next assignment inside the ONE circle could be his toughest one yet. But the American grappling sensation and ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion remains confident that he will come out on top once ONE Fight Night 11 comes to an end on June 9.

That evening inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, the Atos athlete takes on one of Europe’s top submission grappling artists, Tommy Langaker, in a single-round submission grappling contest.

This battle will be Kade’s fourth appearance under the ONE spotlight, and it comes just six months after he defended his belt for the first time against Brazilian star Matheus Gabriel at ONE on Prime Video 5 in December 2022.

With a 3-0 run in the world’s most stacked submission grappling roster, many are favoring the afro-haired kingpin to come out on top. But his rival, Langaker, will be no easy meat, though.

The Norwegian wizard has already impressed the audience inside the ONE circle with two strong performances, coming out on top against two notable submission hunters, Uali Kurzhev and Renato Canuto.

And Kade himself has been impressed by what Langaker brings to the table. In a recent interview with ONE, the 20-year-old had nothing but praise for his fellow practitioner:

“Tommy is an amazing opponent. He’s very strong and flexible, which are two things that are difficult to deal with when put together.”

A 2020 IBJJF European Champion, Langaker has been carrying the torch for the European continent and Norway since receiving his BJJ black belt in 2017.

Kade Ruotolo, however, has more or less done the same throughout his career. Most recently, he claimed the 2022 ADCC world championship and became the youngest world champion in the competition’s history.