Kade Ruotolo admits disappointment in not being able to tap out Tommy Langaker

At ONE Fight Night 11, Kade Ruotolo had to dig deep to defend his ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship for a second time.

Facing off with Tommy Langaker in the co-main event on June 9th after a long wait for their eventual meeting, the anticipation was built-up. Not only did the contest live up to the expectations, but Langaker also proved to be a tough test for the champ, just like many had predicted.

With both men aggressively searching for submissions, Kade Ruotolo was forced to stay tenacious and keep being the aggressor to make sure he got his hand raised once the contest went to the time limit. The match-up was summarised by a battle of heel hook and leg lock attempts that saw them both defending incredibly well and pulling off incredible transitions to change the attack and approach.

Whilst he was able to outwork his opponent and come out the other side of a tough contest with his world championship still wrapped around his shoulder, Kade Ruotolo did point out a few things he wished he did better during his post-fight interview.

After the match-up, the champ reflected on the match-up and how he wasn’t entirely happy with his performance despite the win:

“Anytime I don't get to submission, I can't lie, I'm a little disappointed with myself.”

Watch the full post-fight interview below:

Despite the lack of a submission finish, the contest still delivered on all the hype for grappling fans, with two of the best competitors in the world bringing the best out of each other under the ONE Championship banner.

North American fans can rewatch the entire ONE Fight Night 11 event via the free replay on Prime Video.