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Following his debut win at ONE 167, Kade Ruotolo is officially a mixed martial artist with a pro bout under his belt.
The elite grappler has spoken about how his passion and enthusiasm for training and competing in MMA has only continued to grow throughout this process. However, leaving jiu-jitsu behind after dedicating his life up to this point to the sport isn't an option for him.
In a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Ruotolo broke down how he sees himself managing both pursuits in the near future. He believes that MMA will become his primary focus aside from a few key grappling contests each year:
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"I think there will be a time where jiu-jitsu gets put on the back burner a bit, but never completely. There will still be certain tournaments, and certain things. I still wanna keep my belt and do ADCC, those big tournaments, maybe once or twice a year competing in jiu-jitsu, give or take. I really want to step on the gas for MMA."
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Watch the full interview below:
Kade Ruotolo is all in on MMA
His submission win over Blake Cooper earlier this month was not a one-and-done approach for Kade Ruotolo.
He is motivated to continue climbing the ladder in MMA to try and become the best, just like he has already done in the submission grappling world.
Rather than relinquishing his ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship, he hopes to maintain his career in grappling despite making MMA the priority.
Rest assured that whatever he decides to do, it's going to be an exciting rise if his performance at ONE 167 is anything to go off.
He also hopes to return to MMA by the end of the year after diving back into submission grappling in the near future.
His next contest inside the circle comes in the form of a grappling superfight when he defends his lightweight crown against the flyweight champion, Mikey Musumeci, at ONE 168.
ONE Championship's return to the United States is set to air live from the Ball Arena in Denver in US primetime on September 6.
