Kade Ruotolo may be focusing of late on MMA but he is making sure that he is not completely ignoring jiu-jitsu, which is his traditional lane and where he has had a lot of success.
The reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion shared on The Ariel Helwani Show that he is striking a balance between keeping his top standing in BJJ while also effecting the desired progress in his MMA journey.
Ruotolo said:
"But at the same time I definitely know that as we get closer to the title and things like that, it's going to be really taking everything I have in the MMA realm. So I definitely want to keep training jiu-jitsu, of course, to complement my MMA."
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Watch the interview below:
Kade Ruotolo started to compete in MMA in June, part of his push to expand his horizon as a fighter and continue challenging himself. He made a good account himself in his debut, hacking out an opening-round submission (rear-naked choke) win over fellow American Blake Cooper.
It is something he looks to sustain as he plunges back into MMA action on Nov. 8 at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug against veteran Pakistani fighter Ahmed Mujtaba.
ONE 169 will take place at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and air live and for free in U.S. primetime to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Kade Ruotolo says MMA has given him added perspective as a fighter
Kade Ruotolo said venturing into MMA has given him added perspective as a fighter and is looking forward to getting more out of it as he progresses in the multi-faceted sport.
Long competed in jiu-jitsu, Ruotolo, who is the reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion, began his MMA journey back in June with a first-round submission victory over Blake Cooper.
In an interview with the MMA Junkie, Ruotolo spoke about how his MMA campaign been like, saying:
"So every day I'm learning so much that's why I love it so much, you know. It's been a long time since I learned something every single day and it's just refreshing, you know. So yeah."
The MMA learnings continue for Kade Ruotolo on Nov. 8 at ONE 169: Malykhin vs Reug Reug when he battles Ahmed Mujtaba in a lightweight clash.