"They don't feel any pressure, they just go and fight hard" - Andre Galvao in awe of the Ruotolo twins' mentality

Andre Galvao saw how the Ruotolo twins, Tye and Kade, matured and developed into one of the best submission grapplers this generation has ever seen.

Galvao, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend himself, is the mentor of the two grappling proteges. He said that Tye and Kade’s craft derive from their mental foundation.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Galvao said the Ruotolos usually have an air of positivity around them, which allows them to just charge ahead every time that they compete.

Andre Galvao said:

“It's the way they see life, you know. Their mindset is different. They're very positive, they're very cheerful. They believe in themselves of course, but just like, you feel the energy. Like, when they're new, they’re always smiling, you feel like good energy around them… They don't feel any pressure, they just go and fight hard. And most of the time, their performances, it's way better than their performance at the gym.”

The seven-time BJJ world champion added:

“At three years old, they start training jiu-jitsu and they continued [training] in jiu-jitsu. And not only that, the fact that they have a super strong mindset where they're always happy, you know, they are always positive. I believe that makes a huge difference in their talent. We can call this talent, of course, they work really hard for that, but their talent comes from the ability to deal with pressure in a very good way.”

The Ruotolo brothers have since racked up an impressive resume for themselves, with both Tye and Kade receiving their black belts when they were just 18.

Kade holds titles in the WNO, Grapplefest, and the EBI Combat Jiu-Jitsu, while Tye also has a WNO title and became the youngest person to reach the semifinals of the ADCC when he was just 16 in 2019.

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Andre Galvao sees the twins turning on their killer switch at ONE 157

Tye and Kade will be up for their toughest challenges yet when they take on Garry Tonon and Shinya Aoki, respectively, in submission grappling matches.

The contests will mark their ONE Championship debuts, and will go down at ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot on Friday, May 20, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

This will be a test for the twins since they haven’t fought inside a cage before. Nevertheless, Galvao expects his students to be prime and ready against two of ONE Championship’s best submission specialists.

Andre Galvao said the twins are relentless against each other whenever they spar. Their drive to push each other to become the best has led Tye and Kade to go further whenever they compete against anyone.

“They put a little bit more into a tournament than in a training session. I don't know if you saw them rolling or when they're sparring, they go really hard after each other. But when there's like an enemy or an opponent, a challenge, they know how to turn on the trigger, to go for the kill. It is incredible, I believe those are the difference in their mind, their talent, and their style.”

We'll see how the twins fare when they enter the circle for the very first time this Friday.