Kade Ruotolo bares simple yet effective game plan to solve Francisco Lo puzzle: "Takedown, pass, and submit"

ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo doesn't want to complicate matters when he steps inside the Circle to face Francisco Lo this Friday, April 5.

The 21-year-old superstar welcomes the Brazilian grappling ace to the global stage of martial arts, and he seems rather certain that he'll only need a simple game plan to see off the Checkmat representative in their 180-pound catchweight submission grappling war inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

Speaking to CountFilms TV in Bangkok, Thailand, Kade Ruotolo offered:

"I mean I feel like it's gonna be the same plan, I don't want to say the boring response, but it is kind of the same always, right? It just doesn't change too much. It's to takedown, pass, and submit, you know."

Watch the full interview here:

While Kade Ruotolo knows he can rely on his strengths to come out on top against Lo, he recognizes areas where the debuting martial artist can turn things around.

After all, 'Chico' has built a solid reputation as one of the game's trickiest guard passers and attackers today. However, Ruotolo will look to test that statement when they meet in a matter of hours.

North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE Fight Night 21 card live and for free in U.S. primetime this Friday, April 5.

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Kade Ruotolo's run on the global stage of ONE

Since inking a deal with the world's largest martial arts organization, Kade Ruotolo has racked up a perfect 5-0 record with four successful world title defenses.

The Atos affiliate opened his account with a hard-earned win over Japanese MMA icon Shinya Aoki at ONE 157 in May 2022, a performance that was enough to earn him a shot at the prestigious 26-pound gold.

That opportunity came when he locked horns with Uali Kurzhev at ONE on Prime Video 3. The California native needed less than five minutes to see off the three-time Sambo world champion via submission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

He's added three successive world title defenses since one coming against Matheus Gabriel and a pair of triumphs over Norweigian grappling wizard Tommy Langaker.