ONE Championship's next big fight card will take place on Friday, June 7, with ONE 167. It will feature the long-awaited MMA debut of Kade Ruotolo.
Welcoming him to the world of MMA will be fellow American Blake Cooper, who had a successful amateur wrestling career, winning multiple state championships. In September 2023, he made his ONE Championship debut against Maurice Abevi.
The world's largest martial arts promotion posted a graphic on Instagram where they asked fans how they believed Ruotolo would fare against Cooper.
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Fans responded with their thoughts in the comments section as seen below:
"How ever he wants"
"He working with @classicfightteam and looking crisp 🔥"
"It'll probably be a submission but if he does get a TKO that'll be crazy"
"I'm sure he will crush."
"Knock out by darce choke 😂"
"Controls the whole fight!"
The ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion, alongside his twin brother Tye Ruotolo, had been looking forward to trying their hand at MMA and Kade Ruotolo will be the first to get his chance.
Kade Ruotolo predicts a first-round finish against Blake Cooper
With a sold-out crowd set to fill up the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand for ONE 167, Kade Ruotolo would love nothing more than to have his MMA debut be a memorable one.
Ruotolo said during the ONE 167 press conference:
"That's a tough question, we're probably equal out there. Regardless of what happens, I don't think this is making out the first round. I can almost assure you that. This camp has pretty much gone as good as possible, and I just feel not ready, I'm beyond ready."
ONE 167 will air live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.