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It takes a strong support network to really bring the best out of anyone and that goes for professional martial artists and it's certainly the case for Kade Ruotolo.
He and his twin brother Tye have grown up in jiu-jitsu thanks to their parents also being students of the grappling arts.
However, MMA wasn't something that his family necessarily saw coming.
Kade dedicated his successful MMA debut at ONE 167 where he submitted Blake Cooper in the first round to his late grandfather who was one of his biggest fans.
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The ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion also spoke about how his grandfather was totally against the idea of seeing him one day step into MMA and trade strikes with his opponents.
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In an interview on The MMA Hour after getting his hand raised, Kade spoke about what his grandfather would have thought of the fight and how he was likely on the edge of his seat throughout:
"I'm sure, it wouldn't be surprising to him you know. But I know for sure, I can only imagine how antsy he gets. I remember, he would get more antsy than my parents would get for jiu-jitsu competitions, you know. I think adding the element of MMA, I'm sure he's up there biting down on his teeth for sure."
Watch the full interview below:
Kade Ruotolo lives for the risk and reward
Kade Ruotolo may have been wise to listen to his grandfather about the dangers of competing in MMA.
Even for an elite grappler and incredible athlete like Kade, anything can happen once strikes start flying inside the Circle.
The issue is that this is exactly what motivates a person like him to want to compete in this sport.
Kade doesn't back down from a challenge so if anything, telling him not to do it was only ever going to increase his enthusiasm.
This same hunt for the biggest and best challenges continues at ONE 168 when he looks to defend his title in a grappling super fight with flyweight champ Mikey Musumeci in Denver on September 6.
