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Two-division MMA world champion Christian Lee confidently claimed that his youngest sibling can more than hold his own against BJJ savant Kade Ruotolo.
Given their respective 3-0 starts in the home of martial arts, lightweight MMA rising stars Adrian Lee and Ruotolo are bound to go on a collision course at some point.
Obviously, the reigning lightweight submission grappling world champion is expected to have the upper hand against 'The Phenom' if this potential match-up goes to the ground.
After all, Kade Ruotolo is a grappling savant who has practically won everything at the highest levels of the sport. The 22-year-old even proved his elite submissions translate well in mixed martial arts by tapping all of his first three opponents.
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However, Christian Lee pointed out that pundits shouldn't be quick to dismiss his sibling's elite grappling capabilities, even against a BJJ specialist of Ruotolo's caliber.
'The Warrior' told the Bangkok Post in a recent interview:
"Adrian is amazing. He’s been training in mixed martial arts his whole life and he’s a very accomplished grappler. So I think even if he went to the ground, he would have no problem hanging with the grappling."
Watch Christian Lee's full interview:
Christian Lee says Adrian Lee and Kade Ruotolo are the future for the 170-pound MMA division
Christian Lee currently rules over two weight classes, but it seems he'll shift his focus solely on the 185-pound ranks in the not-so-distant future.
The Singaporean-American superstar will likely relinquish his lightweight crown once Adrian Lee climbs the ladder.
In an earlier interview with the South China Morning Post, the older Lee said he expects Adrian and Kade Ruotolo to be the faces of the division soon.
The ONE lightweight and welterweight MMA kingpin said:
"I do think that they’re both rising stars, and so I’d like to see them both continue winning and you know, maybe one day they can fight for the title against each other. So we’ll see how that lines up but I think that fight is inevitable."
