"Come back next year strong" - Kade Ruotolo aims to finish 2024 campaign with victorious display vs. Ahmed Mujtaba

After making his MMA debut earlier this year at ONE 167, Kade Ruotolo is focused on keeping his momentum going.

The ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion knows that he still has a lot of ground to make up following his transition to the sport which started on the right foot.

However, for the time being, Kade is still in the process of dedicating more time to MMA whilst continuing to compete at the highest level of submission grappling.

As a result, he's had to wait a bit longer than he would've wanted to make his MMA return but the fight is now locked in for ONE 169.

He'll face Ahmed Mujtaba on Nov. 8 in a contest where gaining more experience is a crucial element for the elite jiu-jitsu competitor.

Kade told MMA Junkie in a recent interview that he could have taken the year off to heal up after his win at ONE 167 but didn't want to let this opportunity pass him by:

"With that being said, you know, my body is probably not at 100 percent but I need to get it done anyways. I just felt like I needed to get the experience through and come back next year strong. So I want to get one more done before the end of the year."

Watch the full interview below:

---

Kade Ruotolo is constantly striving to be better

On top of his elite grappling game, one of the things that makes Kade Ruotolo such an exciting prospect in MMA is his mindset.

Both he and his brother have an incredible work rate and passion for being better than they were the day before.

Kade Ruotolo is also self aware enough to know which elements of his game need the most work. Sometimes, the best way to learn is to gain experience.

That's what he's looking to do at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, when he attempts to go 2-0 in his MMA career.