Kade Ruotolo believes twin brother Tye is the only person that understands his game

Last week, reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo powered through arguably his toughest test in ONE Championship to date. Ruotolo battled Norwegian former IBJJF European Open champion Tommy Langaker in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs. Menshikov on Prime Video, which took place last Friday, June 9, at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The 20-year-old BJJ phenom took home a closely contested unanimous decision after ten minutes of grappling action to retain his lightweight submission grappling gold. One of his biggest keys to victory, according to the American, was having his twin brother Tye yelling out instructions from the corner.

In the official ONE Fight Night 11 post-event interviews backstage, Ruotolo spoke about how having Tye’s voice at the fight really helped him, and how his twin brother is the only one who truly understands his game. Ruotolo stated:

“Absolutely not. There's not a single person on this planet that knows my jiu-jitsu and everything.”

This means that Tye knows what Kade is thinking in every situation, and as such, can help him make the necessary reads and adjustments mid-fight. Clearly, it's an important advantage that has greatly helped Ruotolo.

The Ruotolo twins have been training in jiu-jitsu in their father’s home gym ever since they were eight years old. The two became black belts by the time they were teenagers, and have now won multiple world titles between them.

Fans in the United States and Canada can rewatch all the action of ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs. Menshikov with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.