“He’s too good!” - BJJ legend Andre Galvao backs pupil Kade Ruotolo to beat Uali Kurzhev

Brazilian jiu-jitsu veteran and legendary ADCC competitor Andre Galvao, co-founder and head coach of ATOS, is backing his pupil Kade Ruotolo this Friday night when ONE Championship hits Malaysia.

Ruotolo is set to face multi-time judo and sambo world champion Uali Kurzhev of Russia at ONE on Prime Video 3: Lineker vs. Andrade. The event is set to be broadcast live via Prime Video from the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 21.

The match will be for the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world title.

In an exclusive interview with ONE Championship, Galvao gushed about his student, even predicting the exact submission Ruotolo could finish this fight with. The 40-year-old said:

"Kade [will win] because he’s too good! I believe his opponent [has] never ever felt what he is going to feel this weekend. Kade is good everywhere, and he’s pure technique! Kade will win by D’Arce choke submission!"

Ruotolo debuted for ONE Championship this past May at ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot, alongside his twin brother Tye. He fought Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki, winning via unanimous decision after 12 minutes of action.

Meanwhile, Galvao also made his ONE Championship debut when he grappled ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world champion Reinier de Ridder to a draw at ONE X this past March.

Later on, Ruotolo competed in this year’s ADCC tournament in Las Vegas, where he made history by becoming the youngest competitor to ever win gold at just 19 years of age. He submitted all four of his opponents to achieve the feat and earn the accolade.

Now, Ruotolo has the chance to add the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world title to his long list of achievements. Of course, Andre Galvao, who heads ATOS, where the Ruotolo brothers train, is in full support of his pupil.

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Andre Galvao willing to compete in mixed martial arts in ONE

Andre Galvao may have succumbed to longtime rival Gordon Ryan at this year’s ADCC, and that may have signaled the end of an era for the 40-year-old grappler, but that doesn’t mean his fighting career is over.

Galvao is still signed to ONE Championship, where he is expected to not only participate in submission grappling matches, but eventually mixed martial arts down the line.

A potential showdown in MMA between Galvao and fellow legend Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is a salivating proposition. Almeida transitioned to MMA in September 2021 and has since gone unbeaten in four fights. He’s one of the fastest-rising MMA heavyweights in the world today.

Andre Galvao, meanwhile, hasn’t competed in MMA since 2010, when he lost to Tyron Woodley via first-round KO in Strikeforce. If Galvao does decide to step into the circle to compete in MMA, a battle between BJJ legends would be absolutely massive.