“I’m looking to do the same” - Kade Ruotolo is inspired by Mikey Musumeci’s ONE world title victory

Kade Ruotolo has drawn inspiration from Mikey Musumeci's ONE Championship grappling title win.

Musumeci made history by defeating Cleber Sousa for the inaugural ONE flyweight submission grappling world championship late last month. The new line of titles represents ONE’s dedication to the art of submission grappling.

The next belt up for grabs will be the lightweight submission grappling world championship, which will debut at ONE on Prime Video 3. Ruotolo will be competing against Uali Kurzhev for the title.

When asked about Musumeci’s recent win during the recent virtual press conference, Ruotolo responded:

“Seeing Mikey’s [Musumeci] match and seeing him get the belt, that was super inspiring to me. I’m looking to do the same.”

Ruotolo looks to ride his momentum from the 2022 ADCC tournament into ONE on Prime Video 3. At 19 years old, Kade became the youngest champion in tournament history.

ONE Championship has now provided a path to superstardom with their grappling titles. With that, it's only a matter of time before the twin brothers are household names for combat sports fans.

Watch the One on Prime Video 3 virtual press conference between Kade Ruotolo and Uali Kurzhev below:

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Kade Ruotolo breaks down "interesting matchup" against Uali Kurzhev

Uali Kurzghev’s sambo background against the jiu-jitsu background of Kade Ruotolo will be the latest edition of the rivalry between the different grappling arts.

Ruotolo was asked about his upcoming match at the ONE on Prime Video 3 virtual press conference and had this to say:

"Someone left a comment on my last Instagram post: ‘If Sambo was easy, it would be called jiu-jitsu.’ So these matches [jiu-jitsu vs. sambo] are really cool, we can merge the two styles. Sambo guys have great takedowns and leg locks, so it’ll be fun to figure out his style. But I believe in BJJ, we have a few more moves, more options, so it’ll be an interesting matchup."

BJJ practitioner Rodrigo Marello made a statement against Sambo specialist Ruslan Bagdasarian with a 15-second heel hook at ONE 161. Ruotolo now has an opportunity to continue BJJ's success against sambo fighters in ONE Championship on October 21.