"Always been my favorite" - Kade Ruotolo says it would be an honor to train with MMA legend and childhood idol Nate Diaz

Long before the Ruotolo twins, Kade and Tye, made waves in the grappling scene, it was the Diaz brothers, Nick and Nate, who first took the MMA world by storm.

It's not surprising that reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo took an immediate liking to Nate Diaz. After all, the Stockton, California-based superstar was known for his scrappy, no-nonsense attitude backed by incredible jiu-jitsu and boxing skills.

Growing up, the 21-year-old BJJ ace certainly saw a lot of himself in the younger Diaz brother. Following a rousing MMA debut last June, Kade Ruotolo was asked if he had ever trained with his MMA idol.

The Atos standout shared on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani:

"I've never trained with him but I think it's gonna come here in the near future sometime hopefully, you know. We've got an awesome mutual friend Pat Tenore, he's an absolute legend and great friends with Nate."

Since they basically hang out with the same circle, it won't be long before we see an interesting Ruotolo-Diaz collab. The youngest ADCC world champion added:

"We've been talking here and there, and it would be amazing to go up north and get some training with those guys because those guys have always been my favorite for sure."

Watch the interview in its entirety:

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Kade Ruotolo thanks awesome corner for successful MMA transition

Kade Ruotolo admits he couldn't have taken out Blake Cooper in less than a round at ONE 167 if not for the amazing group behind him. He added:

"I probably had the dopest corner you could ever ask for, for sure. Erik Paulson, Tyler Wombles, and my brother Tye Ruotolo. Can't ask for much more of a combo right there."

While we would all love to see Ruotolo don the four-ounce gloves anew, he must first defend his crown in a grappling super fight against fellow world champion Mikey Musumeci.

This epic showdown will take place at ONE 168: Denver at Ball Arena on September 6. Tickets for this megaevent are available through Ticketmaster.