“One of my biggest accomplishments” - Kade Ruotolo on the importance of winning a world title in ONE

At ONE on Prime Video 3, submission grappling sensation Kade Ruotolo etched his name into ONE Championship history, becoming the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion.

Defeating sambo world champion Uali Kurzhev at the critically-acclaimed event, Ruotolo became just the second man to hold a submission grappling title. The first is Mikey Musumeci who captured the flyweight title the month prior at ONE on Prime Video 2.

Following the contest, Kade Ruotolo called the victory one of the biggest accomplishments of his career during the ONE on Prime Video post-fight press conference:

“It's right there at the top, it's got to be. To me, ONE is the biggest platform of martial arts. And you know, winning this belt for ONE is right there with my ADCC title. I'm not going to put one over the other. It's right there with it, and I'm so relieved, so thankful. This is one of my biggest accomplishments yet.”

In September, Ruotolo made history at the ADCC Submission Fighting Championship, becoming the youngest competitor to become an ADCC world champion at just 19 years old. Ruotolo submitted all of his opponents, completing one of the greatest runs in the history of the celebrated submission grappling showcase.

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Kade Ruotolo readying himself to tackle the world of mixed martial arts next

Already one of the best submission grapplers in the world, Kade Ruotolo is gearing up for a highly-anticipated transition to mixed martial arts.

During his post-fight press conference interview, Ruotolo shared his desire to get back inside the Circle early next year. When asked about his interest in a move to MMA, Ruotolo said:

“Guaranteed. I've been working on it a bit more. I kind of had to hit the brakes just for a little bit, I had that huge ADCC tournament and then now this but I'm going to continue working for these hands and my goal is early next year to start mixing it up and have that MMA debut. I'm beyond ecstatic about that as well.”

Likely to join him in a move to MMA is fellow submission grappling star Danielle Kelly, who made her ONE Championship debut at ONE X in March. Since then, Kelly has been absent from the Circle, though she shared a desire to compete before the year is over. Like Ruotolo, Kelly anticipates a leap into the world of mixed martial arts in 2023.