Kade Ruotolo speaks on uphill battle to make submission grappling a more eye-catching discipline

Reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo believes he has a shared responsibility with other grappling stars to continue to make their sport exciting for fans.

Given the platform they have at ONE Championship, Ruotolo is in a unique position to truly take Brazilian jiu-jitsu to the mainstream. But in order to do that, he has to put on a show each time he’s in the Circle.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Ruotolo talked about needing to constantly push for submissions in his matches.

The 20-year-old American phenom said:

“So it's going to take a lot of people like my brother, like Mikey, you know, all those guys like this to show that [submission grappling is one of the best disciplines], and as a result, we need to go for the submission and try to impress fans.”

Both Kade and Tye Ruotolo are signed to ONE Championship, and are taking the sport of submission grappling to newer heights.

Other ONE Championship grapplers include reigning ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion ‘Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci, and atomweight star Danielle Kelly, among others.

Ruotolo stresses the importance of each of these grapplers looking for the finish whenever they hit the mats.

Kade Ruotolo will have the chance to put together another highlight reel finish in his next match, but it won’t be easy. The 20-year-old is set to lock horns with IBJJF European Open champion Tommy Langaker at ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs. Menshikov on Prime Video.

The event broadcasts live from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday, June 9, and will stream absolutely free to fans in the United States and Canada via Amazon Prime.

In this fight, Ruotolo’s ONE lightweight submission grappling world title will be up for grabs, so stay tuned to Sportskeeda for more news on this exciting matchup.