"An intriguing matchup" - Kade Ruotolo expects an interesting clash of styles against Francisco Lo

ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo is anticipating a tough challenge from incoming promotional debutant Francisco Lo on April 5 at ONE Fight Night 21, as they are scheduled to meet in a catchweight submission grappling match inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The undefeated BJJ phenom shared this during his recent appearance on CountFilms TV's YouTube channel for an interview, where he also revealed that his fight plan will still remain.

The 21-year-old American stated:

"It's kind of an intriguing matchup. So, as far as like a game plan goes, there's not really too much other than what we always kind of stick to, take down, pass, submit. I wouldn't be surprised if the fight goes all over, like most of them do anyways."

Kade Ruotolo wants to add the Checkmat representative to his hit list, which already has the likes of Shinya Aoki, Uali Kurzhev, Matheus Gabriel, and Tommy Langaker. Furthermore, he wants to welcome Lo to the world's largest martial arts organization, and show why the promotion truly houses the best submission grapplers on the planet today.

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Kade Ruotolo left fans in awe with his idea of fighting in two matches on one card

After reasserting his mastery over Langaker in January 2024 at ONE 165 through another unanimous decision win, Kade Ruotolo had the initial idea of making his MMA debut on the same night when he offered himself as the replacement for the former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki.

This idea has left everyone, especially the fans, as no other athlete dared to do the same before. Kade's willingness to step in on very short notice for an MMA match confirms that he will soon take his talents into the mixed martial arts realm.

ONE Fight Night 21 will air live in U.S. primetime, free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America.