“He got me right off the get-go” - Kade Ruotolo says he got caught off guard by Uali Kurzhev early in their match

Kade Ruotolo accomplished his mission of becoming the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion by finishing Uali Kurzhev at ONE on Prime Video 3 last week.

The colossal grappling showdown between the two was billed as another entry to the growing Brazilian jiu-jitsu versus sambo rivalry. While he managed to make BJJ practitioners worldwide extremely proud, the 19-year-old phenom admitted that the sambo specialist gave him quite the challenge.

Given the Russian’s impressive credentials, Kade Ruotolo knew he’d be in for a scrap. He shared the circle with arguably one of the most physically imposing opponents he’s ever faced. Kurzhev lived up to the hype and demonstrated the sheer power of sambo just seconds into their match.

Both combatants tried to establish their grips early on. Ruotolo set the tone with his signature movement, while the 33-year-old displayed a stiff but firm base. Once Kurzhev got a hold of Ruotolo, he performed a beautiful foot sweep that caught the Team Atos ace off guard.

In his post-fight interview, Kade Ruotolo marvelled at Kurzhev’s brute strength, saying:

“I knew he was gonna be physically strong. When we started the match, he came at me very hot, you know, and that foot sweep did surprise me. I figured with the judo background, he would throw one of those out and I didn't think it would click so clean. He got me right off the get-go, and I was like, 'Okay, he's, good, for sure.'”

After gaging Kurzhev’s abilities, Ruotolo knew he had to attack right away to neutralize his opponent’s offense. The youngest ADCC world champion then took the Russian’s back and threatened with a couple of submission attempts.

He added:

“When I got right back up to my feet, I start pressing forward, and I knew that attack was probably going to come again. With that being said, I made little adjustments and I found the takedown myself.”

It was the beginning of the end once Ruotolo got a hold of Kurzhev’s right leg. He went belly down on a savage heel hook, leaving the Russian no choice but to tap.

Relieve Kade Ruotolo’s glorious finish below:

---

Kade Ruotolo believes the BJJ vs. sambo debate will continue

BJJ certainly got the better of sambo at ONE on Prime Video 3. However, Kade Ruotolo thinks the never-ending debate about which grappling discipline is better will rage on.

He explained in the same interview:

"Yeah, man, that's at least in the circle, I'd say just for now right, guaranteed. That was definitely more of my field out there and more of my game, the grappling format. It's kind of hard to say, everyone's different. There are definitely different sambo guys out there, different jiu-jitsu guys, everyone has different skill sets and levels. But at least between me and him, maybe.”

Kade Ruotolo’s reign as ONE’s lightweight submission grappling world champion has officially begun. For sure, he’ll likely face more opponents with sambo backgrounds in the not-so-distant future.

But for now, Ruotolo is enjoying the spoils of victory dedicated to the entire BJJ community.