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Brazilian jiu-jitsu savant Matheus Gabriel won’t let his admiration for Kade Ruotolo stop him from taking away his ONE lightweight submission grappling world title. Two of the brightest young stars in the submission grappling scene will take center stage at ONE on Prime Video 5: De Ridder vs. Malykhin in Ruotolo’s first world title defense of his newly won throne.
The epic grappling war takes place on December 2 (US Primetime) from the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines. North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription will once again be able to witness this technical battle live and completely free of charge.
Those who follow the Brazilian jiu-jitsu scene are quite aware of Matheus Gabriel's immense talent in the grappling arts. The 25-year-old, who compiled a 48-10 record in BJJ matches, is also an IBJJF BJJ World Champion, among other notable accolades.
Then again, he doesn’t have the same star power as the prolific Ruotolo, whose stock skyrocketed this year. The 19-year-old became a household name following his unbeaten run in the 2022 ADCC World Championship and even became the youngest world champion in the tournament’s history.
The legend only grew when Ruotolo won the most prestigious gold strap in submission grappling by beating sambo specialist Uali Kurzhev for the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship. Now, Gabriel wants what Ruotolo has and is willing to do whatever it takes to shock the world this coming Friday.
The Brazilian told ONE Championship:
“My expectation in my debut in ONE against Kade Ruotolo is very high. I am very happy and looking forward to making this debut. I'm very happy with the opportunity to fight for the belt. Kade is a guy who has a very aggressive game, who fights forward all the time. I like this game, it's a style I like, always fighting forward. I really admire his style.”
Matheus Gabriel shows of unique way to finish an armbar
Those who practice BJJ know just how challenging it is to finish a straight armbar. Although it is one of the earliest techniques that people learn as a white belt, it’s still taxing to pull off sometimes against a physically stronger opponent who knows what he’s doing.
For one, it takes a lot of skill to be able to isolate an arm before you can bend it in places it has no business being in. Matheus Gabriel is one of the most creative BJJ practitioners out there and recently showed off a hack to alleviate the problem.
In a video shared by ONE Championship on Instagram, the Checkmat star demonstrated the struggles of trying to tug an arm open against a defending opponent with a strong grip.
Instead of the traditional way of "kicking" the grip open by applying force to the foe’s bicep area, Gabriel performed an innovative method by crossing both his legs on the opposite arm. It worked to perfection, as Matheus Gabriel was able to break the grip of his sparring partner and extended his arm to force the tap.
Check out the amazing technique below and apply it on your next roll:
