“I’m happy” - Kade Ruotolo takes third straight MMA win at ONE 171 with quick finish of Nicolas Vigna

Kade Ruotolo did it again - three fights, three first-round finishes. At ONE 171: Qatar, the 22-year-old grappling prodigy quickly wrapped up the fight with a first-round arm triangle submission. It's not exactly how he planned it, but he's not complaining.

He said:

"Once I got to the ground, I thought I was going to be a little bit quicker, but it took a little bit more time to find the sub than I thought. But I tried to get a little ground and pound at the same time. So I'm happy. I'm happy."

This victory marks Ruotolo's third straight first-round finish in MMA. If he keeps this pace up, he might be going for gold sooner than later. But for now, he's just soaking it all in.

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"Got the finish in the first again!" - Kade Ruotolo beams with excitement watching his submission of Nicolas Vigna at ONE 171

Kade Ruotolo couldn't help but admire his own handiwork as he watched the replay of his match: "Oh, this is the end finish, the arm triangle," he commented as he watched the replay.

"I don't even hit that many arm triangles, so it's good to get an arm triangle finish."

Kade Ruotolo is like a man possessed when going for a submission, but even he was surprised by how the fight played out. Fans thought opponent Nicolas Vigna was done for with a leg lock early on - and, to be fair, so did Ruotolo.

"I thought for sure after the first exchange, when I got to the leg lock, that was the end of the fight. I felt the ankle pop. I hate feeling ligaments pop like that. That's never fun to feel that. Then I felt it in the knee stretch really hard."

Then, with the spirit of a true sportsman:

"I hope his ankle's all good."