“He’s an absolute beast” - Kade Ruotolo says his twin brother Tye would’ve won at CJI if not for a knee injury

Kade Ruotolo is confident that the CJI -80kg division title would've still gone to his family if not for an unfortunate injury.

In an Instagram post, Kade said brother Tye had as much case for the competition's $1 million prize if the ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion hadn't tweaked his knee in the earlier stages of the tournament in Las Vegas.

Tye unfortunately hurt his knee on the first day of the weekend tournament and lost to Levi Jones-Leary in the quarterfinals.

Kade, however, avenged his brother in the finals and dominated Jones-Leary in the final to capture the division's prize and title.

The ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion wrote in his post:

"I believe my brother would've won the -80 if it weren't for his knee injury in round one of his second match. He's an absolute beast for even finishing out the next two rounds. He'll be back even stronger."

Kade Ruotolo, meanwhile, dominated his side of the bracket and went a perfect 3-0 against Matheus Diniz, old rival Tommy Langaker, and Andrew Tackett on his road to the final against Jones-Leary.

The American superstar will now turn his focus in his next defense of the ONE lightweight submission grappling world title.

Kade will defend his throne against ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci in an absolute super fight at ONE 168: Denver on September 6 at Ball Arena.

Tickets for ONE 168 are available at Ticketmaster.

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Kade Ruotolo plans to push the envelope against Mikey Musumeci in Denver

Kade Ruotolo has always pushed the boundaries of submission grappling in his career, and he plans to do the same when he faces Mikey Musumeci in Denver.

The 28-year-old Musumeci, who's seven years older than Kade, is already considered among the best submission grapplers of the generation. He has five BJJ world titles and the ONE flyweight submission grappling world title.

Kade, however, is determined to showcase his brand of BJJ in his super fight against 'Darth Rigatoni'.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Kade said:

"So some people may view that (Musumeci's skills) as more technical. Like sticking to his guns and sticking to his techniques. Or it's his strategy, maybe. And some people may view it as my game is more technical as trying to explore every route to victory, either with passing, submitting from the guard, or from the top."