Kade Ruotolo submission grappling: WATCH: Kade Ruotolo uses Shinya Aoki's patented flying techniques against him in dominant ONE Championship debut

ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo takes immense pride in his uber-athletic performances inside the circle, which he eagerly flaunted in his ONE Championship debut.

Taking on former ONE lightweight MMA world champion and Japanese grappling legend Shinya Aoki in May 2022, Ruotolo ripped a page out of Aoki's extensive list of maneuvers when he used the cage as extra leverage for a takedown attempt, right into a back take.

Watch the sequence in slow-mo below, which ONE posted on Instagram:

Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more

Though 'Tobikan Judan' had his moments against the American Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) phenom, Ruotolo earned the unanimous decision win.

In October 2022, Ruotolo battled Uali Kurzhev for the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling crown. While the Russian star is 19 years the senior of Ruotolo, the Atos affiliate brought the fight to him and eventually sunk in a heel hook for the victory.

Ruotolo notched four more submission grappling wins before he made his MMA debut last June, when he submitted Blake Cooper late in the first round. He added tap-out wins over Ahmed Mujtaba and Nicolas Vigna in November 2024 and this past February, respectively.

Kade Ruotolo praised by twin brother Tye for helping him shine in ONE

Kade Ruotolo has been in the corner of his twin brother Tye ever since they were young, and the latter graciously gave the former his flowers for their high-intensity sparring matches.

Speaking with JitsMagazine ahead of his successful defense of the ONE welterweight submission grappling world championship against Dante Leon at ONE Fight Night 31 last Friday, May 2, Tye stated:

"Oh, 100%. I think I wouldn't even be close to where I am now. I hope I'd still be pretty good, but you know, so much success has come from just the rounds that my brother and I possess."

Watch the entire interview below:

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

Know More

Follow One Championship News, Schedule & Results at Sportskeeda.

Edited by Tejas Rathi