BJJ legend Andre Galvao calls student Kade Ruotolo the “most entertaining grappler in grappling history” after CJI triumph

ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo continued his trailblazing ways in the world of submission grappling, and his mentor Andre Galvao couldn't be any prouder.

The BJJ legend was over the moon when Ruotolo tore through the -80kg division in the Craig Jones Invitational and bagged the tournament's $1 million cash prize.

In an Instagram post, the BJJ legend called his student "the most entertaining grappler in jiu-jitsu history" while celebrating Ruotolo's victory backstage at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Galvao wrote:

"$1M USD @kaderuotolo - THE MOST ENTERTAINING GRAPPLER IN JIU-JITSU HISTORY 🔥 @cjiofficial champ 🥇. The journey was long and I'm proud of Kade... so proud! Broke one more record: Kade is the youngest millionaire athlete in BJJ history 😄✨👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽💰."

Kade Ruotolo, who holds a perfect 7-0 record in ONE Championship, ruled over the 16-man tournament in the -80kg division and faced Levi-Jones Leary in the final.

The match itself had a bit of drama since Leary eliminated Ruotolo's twin brother Tye on day one of the tournament.

Determined to make history, and avenge his twin brother's defeat, Ruotolo went berserk in the final and continued to press the attack from top position.

Although Leary tried to mount his offense, Ruotolo's dogged determination and tenacity to maintain dominant position earned him the unanimous decision from the match's judges.

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Kade Ruotolo heads into massive super fight against Mikey Musumeci in Denver

After ruling over CJI, Kade Ruotolo heads into possibly the biggest fight of his career.

The ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion will put his gold on the line against Mikey Musumeci, the ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion, in a super fight at ONE 168: Denver.

Musumeci and Ruotolo have identical 7-0 records in ONE Championship, but the newly minted CJI champion has one MMA win under his belt when he submitted American brawler Blake Cooper at ONE 167 this June.

Ruotolo's fourth defense of his throne goes down at the Ball Arena on September 6. Tickets for ONE 168 are available at Ticketmaster.