Kade Ruotolo ONE 171: FREE FULL FIGHT: Kade Ruotolo captures inaugural lightweight submission grappling throne in clinical submission of Uali Kurzhev

FREE FULL FIGHT: Kade Ruotolo captures inaugural lightweight submission grappling throne in clinical submission of Uali Kurzhev

By Karl Batungbacal

Modified Apr 23, 2025 11:46 GMT

Kade Ruotolo (left) Uali Kurzhev (right) [Photo via: ONE Championship] — Kade Ruotolo (left) and Uali Kurzhev (right) [Photo via ONE Championship]

Kade Ruotolo became the inaugural king of ONE Championship's lightweight submission grappling division in just his second bout with the promotion. He achieved that goal in stunning fashion in October 2022.

Closing out the undercard of ONE on Prime Video 3, Ruotolo faced grizzled veteran Uali Kurzhev for the inaugural 170-pound submission grappling world championship.

It was not all smooth sailing for the American prodigy as Kurzhev, who is 14 years Ruotolo's senior, utilized his grown-man strength to initially overpower the 22-year-old. However, the youngster proved he was skilled beyond his years by relentlessly poking holes in Kurzhev's stout defense en route to cinching in a heel hook at the 4:26 mark.

Rewatch the entire fight below, which ONE posted on YouTube:

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Ruotolo's flawless execution in this matchup was only the beginning of his romp through the division, as he logged four wins in his next four matchups to go undefeated in six bouts.

Over that span, he successfully defended the crown thrice — against Matheus Gabriel in December 2022 and twice against Tommy Langaker in June 2023 and January 2024.

The Atos product made his MMA debut in June 2024 and submitted Blake Cooper in the first round. Ruotolo improved his MMA record to a pristine 3-0 with his third submission victory in the sport at Nicolas Vigna's expense this past February.

Kade Ruotolo is eagerly waiting for his next challenger

Kade Ruotolo is chomping at the bit to see who ONE's upper brass will name as his next challenger for the ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship.

He shared the following in a recent interview with combat sports journalist Nick Atkin:

"We've just got to keep bringing out these amazing matches, like Tye-Dante, my next MMA match, and hopefully, we'll see who we got coming up to defend my title. We don't know who yet, but hopefully someone good."

Watch the entire interview below:

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

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Edited by Harvey Leonard