Kade Ruotolo admits not feeling at his best in his match against Tommy Langaker

Kade Ruotolo admitted to not feeling his best at last Friday’s submission grappling world title showdown against Tommy Langaker.

The American superstar put his ONE lightweight submission grappling world title on the line for the second time in his reign with the intention of winning by submission.

In his last grappling match, Ruotolo lamented at not giving the fans the highlight finish they craved after beating Matheus Gabriel in December. So he hasn’t felt fulfilled or happy about his performance last week.

At the ONE Fight Night 11 post-presser, he explained:

“No excuses. Like I said, I didn't feel like my 100% self out there. I feel like I honestly felt at 50% of my capabilities, and I definitely got to come back a bit stronger, for sure.”

Watch the full interview below:

Over the last year, Kade Ruotolo had been finishing some of the highest-level guys in BJJ before his last two world title matches. He garnered so much hype for his fiery performances that, quite frankly, it’s no wonder he feels like he’s let the fans down.

Last September, he became the youngest ADCC No-Gi World Champion after submitting Micael Galvao in the final. Then he returned to ONE to defeat multiple-time Sambo world champion Uali Kurzhev by submission to win the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship.

Although Brazilian jiu-jitsu is his bread and butter, he’s prepared to boost his capabilities even further by stepping into the competitive world of MMA.

This self-motivated persistence has already turned into action, with both Kade and Tye taking striking lessons from Superbon Singha Mawynn in Thailand. At this rate, Kade Ruotolo might be able to pull this off before the year’s end.