Kade Ruotolo on why he wanted to step in against Shinya Aoki after Sage Northcutt pulled out at ONE 165

ONE lightweight submission grappling king Kade Ruotolo wasn’t kidding when he said he’ll scrap with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

The 21-year-old BJJ prodigy proved it when he requested to be Sage Northcutt’s late-notice replacement against Shinya Aoki at ONE 165.

While his crazy wish wasn’t granted since John Lineker ultimately stepped up and faced ‘Tobikan Judan’ in an openweight MMA showdown, it was still an admirable gesture, to say the least.

After all, Ruotolo was already scheduled to defend his grappling crown against Tommy Langaker at the same event.

As confirmed by ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong himself, the Atos standout was willing to compete twice on the same night.

Let’s not forget this would have been Ruotolo’s MMA debut, against arguably one of the most feared submission specialists the sport has ever seen.

Nevertheless, Ruotolo dazzled in his rematch with Langaker, pulling off a 10-minute grappling clinic to retain his 26 pounds of gold.

In his ONE 165 post-event interview, Kade Ruotolo talked about his willingness to do an MMA and grappling bout on the same night, against two world-class adversaries:

“I mean when I first heard the news, I was a bit rattled, for sure. And yeah, I just felt like I could get the job done and possibly get my grappling match done as well. And, you know, grappling doesn’t have the most damage usually, after the match, right? And I figured, as long as I didn’t get too hurt in the MMA match, I’d have been able to get it done with Tommy [Langaker] as well.”

---

Kade Ruotolo will don the four-ounce gloves sooner rather than later

After three successful world title defenses, it’s safe to say that Kade Ruotolo has earned the right to venture to another sport to possibly contend for a second gold strap.

In the same interview, the youngest ADCC world champion gave a timeframe for when we’ll see him finally make his long-awaited MMA debut inside the ONE circle.

“Without a doubt, it’s coming soon. 110 percent this year. And I’m hoping for early or mid this year. I’d really be stoked to get it done by March or May. It’s kinda been like my timeframe. I know it’s coming up really quick, but, you know, my dream is to become the double-champ for ONE Championship – jiu-jitsu and MMA.”

If you missed any of the action or want to relive an epic night in ONE Championship history, the ONE 165 replay can be watched on demand via watch.onefc.com.