Kade Ruotolo completely relieved to cross the finish line with a win

Reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo is fresh off arguably his toughest test to date in ONE Championship.

The 20-year-old American BJJ phenom successfully defended his ONE gold with a unanimous decision over Norwegian former IBJJF European Open champion Tommy Langaker at ONE Eersel vs. Menshikov on Prime Video. The event took place live from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand last Saturday, June 10.

Ruotolo fell behind on the scorecards early, as Langaker scored a catch with a legitimate submission attempt. That left the American scrambling to even the score down the stretch, which he was eventually able to do. In the end, all three judges saw the contest in favor of Ruotolo, due to his aggressiveness.

Ruotolo said he wasn’t as focused as he should have been in training, even opting to work on his MMA skills as well as finding time to go skateboarding, which potentially led to the less than optimal performance.

In an interview with South China Morning Post after the match, Ruotolo said he will focus more for the next fight.

Ruotolo stated:

“I'm just relieved to get the job done. And I'm excited to have a proper camp for the next one, no skateboarding and I will get it done.”

The 20-year-old says he’s ready to go and make his return to action in a month’s time but has also stated that he wants to make his mixed martial arts debut by the end of the year.

What’s next for Ruotolo? Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, 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.