“Kade looked very smooth” - Chatri Sityodtong comments on Kade Ruotolo’s MMA debut

ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong came away impressed with the MMA debut of the promotion's lightweight submission grappling king Kade Ruotolo. He even said that it was more than what he was expecting.

The 21-year-old Atos standout was a big winner in his maiden MMA outing at ONE 167: Tawanchai vs Nattawut on June 7 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

He defeated fellow American fighter Blake Cooper by submission, through a rear-naked choke, in the opening round of their scheduled three-rounder.

During the post-event press conference for ONE 167, Sityodtong shared his thoughts on the Kade Ruotolo's performance, highlighting how the grappling ace could not have asked for a better MMA debut.

The ONE executive said:

"I was very surprised. Most people who are, you know, world champions and the very best in one discipline, usually show a little bit stiffness in the other discipline. But Kade looked very smooth. His transition, well some of his kicks were off in terms of timing but that's to be expected. But I though for his MMA debut, it's probably one of the greatest MMA debuts. He didn't look like a debutant, that;s for sure."

At ONE 167, Kade Ruotolo tested his stand-up game after a brief feeling-out period against Cooper and had some significant inroads with his kicks. Midway, though, he found an opening to drag his opponent down to the mat, taking hold of Cooper's back and went for a rear-naked choke that resulted in a tapout at the 3:20 mark of the opening frame.

Ruotolo's MMA debut at ONE 167 was a realization of his long-sought goal of dipping his hands in the multifaceted sport, part of his push to grow as a fighter.

Kade Ruotolo says twin brother Tye should be next to debut in MMA

Following his successful MMA debut at ONE 167 on June 7, Kade Ruotolo said his twin brother and fellow ONE submission grappling champion Tye Ruotolo should be next to plunge into the multifaceted sport, possibly later this year.

He shared this in an interview with Karyn Bryant on YouTube in the lead-up to his MMA debut against Blake Cooper last weekend, saying that his brother was just focusing on his upcoming BJJ matches at ADCC before taking a stab at MMA.

Kade Ruotolo said:

"100 percent, yeah, he's going to be doing MMA. We'll see after ADCC, that's his next really big priority. But after that, probably towards the end of this year, I'm sure he'll be making his MMA debut."

Check out what he had to say below:

Tye Ruotolo is the reigning ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion. In his last fight in April, he successfully defended his belt against Australian challenger Izaak Michell.