"I didn't even wanna see the thing" - Kade Ruotolo admits he rarely checks his phone when he's in Costa Rica

Whenever reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo is in Costa Rica, he just wants to savor every moment of his time in paradise and get off with his phone.

This was revealed by Ruotolo during his most recent appearance on The MMA Hour With Ariel Helwani, when he narrated how his stay in the country changed him in a few days, particularly regarding his phone use.

Kade started:

"Ever since, I came to Costa Rica without it on accident, right? For like the week, the first three days was 'where's my phone' and I keep forgetting that I don't even have it."

The one-half of the famous Ruotolo twins shared that in just a week, he didn't even want to hold the gadget, as he added:

"After that week it almost changed me in a sense where after I didn't have it for that week I just didn't even wanna see the thing. Ever since then it's been about three months give or take and I've just been over it."

The Atos representative is fresh off his successful MMA debut against Blake Cooper on June 7 at ONE 167, where he got the job done in the opening round of the match with a rear-naked choke finish.

Kade Ruotolo to defend his world title against Mikey Musumeci at ONE 168: Denver

Ruotolo is now booked for his fourth world title defense, as he takes on the challenge of ONE flyweight submission grappling world Mikey Musumeci in a champion-versus-champion collision on Sept. 6 at ONE 168: Denver inside the Ball Arena in Colorado.

The 21-year-old American wants to prevent 'Darth Rigatoni's' quest to become a two-division submission grappling world champion and prove that he's one of the best submission grappling specialists in the world today.

ONE 168: Denver will air live from the Ball Arena in U.S. primetime on Sept. 6. Tickets for the event are now on sale on Ticketmaster.