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Kade Ruotolo explained why he offered to fight Shinya Aoki in MMA on the day of the event.
On Jan. 28, Aoki was scheduled to fight Sage Northcutt at ONE 165. Unfortunately, Northcutt's cornerman was reportedly denied access to Japan, leading to the American superstar pulling out of the lightweight MMA matchup at the last minute.
As a result, former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion John Lineker stepped up on minimal notice and suffered a first-round submission loss against Aoki. Although Lineker saved the day, he wasn't the only fighter to offer his assistance.
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Kade Ruotolo was scheduled to defend his ONE lightweight submission grappling world title against Tommy Langaker at ONE 165. During an interview with SCMP, the 21-year-old superstar had this to say about wanting to fight in MMA against Aoki, who Ruotolo defeated in his promotional debut, and then still face Langaker:
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"Sage, something happened with his cornerman so he wasn't able to fight anymore. Knowing Shinya's background is pretty much jiu-jitsu in his MMA fights, I thought it would be a solid debut matchup and I thought about it."
Ruotolo continued:
"I thought it would be jiu-jitsu vs jiu-jitsu and it would be exciting. For my MMA debut, it felt like a win-win almost. Why not? I could still do my jiu-jitsu match after. I was confident I could get the job done and still do my jiu-jitsu match."
Watch Ruotolo's interview with SCMP below:
Kade Ruotolo looks to extend undefeated ONE submission grappling record before making MMA debut
On April 5, Kade Ruotolo will return to action for his sixth submission grappling match under the ONE Championship banner. This time, Ruotolo won't be defending his lightweight throne, as he's scheduled to face highly-touted promotional newcomer Francisco Lo at ONE Fight Night 21.
Regardless of the outcome, Ruotolo has continued to voice his interest in fighting in MMA later this year. It's unclear when and who he will fight against, but fans are eager to see the world-class jiu-jitsu competitor expand his combat sports resume.
ONE Fight Night 21 goes down inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. The event featuring two world title fights, including Kade's twin brother Tye Ruotolo, can be seen live and for free by North American viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
