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Reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo recently discussed his immediate career plans. As it turned out, the young jiu-jitsu prodigy has his eyes set on the 2024 IBJJF World Championships.
The International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) is the most prestigious and longest-running world championship tournament in the history of the sport. It has seen some of the greatest of all time rise to its ranks and achieve legendary status.
Despite winning the IBJJF Worlds in the past with his brother Tye (who is also a ONE world champion), Kade has never won the coveted gold medal at black belt level.
Just recently, Kade Ruotolo joined the IBJJF Dallas Open Championship to qualify for the 2024 black belt Worlds. On his quest to finally stand on the podium of the most sought-after tournament in sport jiu-jitsu, Kade Ruotolo said:
"It's just been a bucket list thing for me as a child since I started jiu-jitsu at three-and-a-half years old. Going into the Worlds as a kid, and seeing the energy ini the room and the amount of chanting between teams. Just the craziest battles over the years. I just knew that I always had to do that at the highest levels. It's been on my bucket list."
Watch Kade Ruotolo's behind-the-scenes clip from the IBJJF Dallas Open Championship, courtesy of FloGrappling, here:
Aside from being a ONE world champion, Kade Ruotolo is also the youngest ADCC world champion ever
Although the IBJJF world title has eluded Kade Ruotolo's career so far, he has achieved some remarkable feats men twice his age couldn't. The young Ruotolo made history in 2022 by becoming the youngest ADCC gold medalist ever.
The ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships, deemed as the "Olympics of submission grappling", is perhaps the only other tournament that can rival the IBJJF Worlds in terms of prestige. Starting way back in 1998 - five years before Ruotolo was born - ADCC has seen some of the greatest in all forms of grappling arts lock horns to determine who truly is the best.
At the 2022 ADCC world championships, Ruotolo submitted all of his opponents (an ADCC first) in the -77kg category, making him the youngest to top the podium in history. Let's see if he can repeat this feat at the 2024 IBJJF Worlds.
