"Just wanted to give the people what they want" - Kade Ruotolo on why he accepted Denver super fight vs Mikey Musumeci

For ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo, putting the discipline on the martial arts map is his sole goal on the global stage of ONE Championship.

The 21-year-old admits that played a decisive factor in accepting the all-champion super fight against Mikey Musumeci at ONE 168: Denver on September 6. The Atos representative puts his coveted 26 pounds of gold on the line inside Ball Arena against 'Darth Rigatoni' in a battle that pits two of the finest Brazilian jiu-jitsu wizards today.

In a pre-fight session with Cageside Press this week, Kade Ruotolo confessed that he had no intentions to take on his fellow American. However, with this fight having all the makings to be an instant classic, the ONE world champion admits it was too good of a chance to pass by.

The lightweight kingpin noted:

"You know, it was a fight that the whole community, a lot of people, a lot of friends and families were stoked. So, you know, I just wanted to give the people what they want, pretty much."

Ruotolo's submission grappling firefight against Musumeci serves as the co-main event of ONE 168: Denver. The headline attraction of the September 6 bill sees Jonathan Haggerty and Superlek Kiatmoo9 square off in a ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title contest.

Get your tickets here.

Watch Kade Ruotolo's full interview here:

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Kade Ruotolo wants second MMA bout after Musumeci slugfest at ONE 168

Should Kade Ruotolo ace his assignment against Musumeci next month, the American martial artist will only have one thing on his mind—a return to MMA.

On the subject, the ground game savant told Cageside Press:

"We should try to do it again as soon as possible. I don't care who it is, just try to get me a matchup ASAP."

The young phenom debuted in the all-including discipline at ONE 167 in June, seeing off Blake Copper with relative ease in one round of their lightweight contest.