Kade Ruotolo keeping an eye out for Nicolas Vigna's 'solid right hand' in Qatar: "He's knocked out a lot of people with it"

Kade Ruotolo's run in mixed martial arts has been nothing short of entertaining, and he plans to keep it that way in his third fight in the discipline at ONE 171: Qatar.

The ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion hops back into action against Argentinian debutant Nicolas Vigna in a lightweight MMA tilt inside the Lusail Sports Arena this Thursday, Feb. 20.

Many see Ruotolo, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, leaning towards his ground game prowess again in this classic grappler vs. striker fixture in Qatar. After all, the 22-year-old talent from Atos wrapped up both his matches so far against Blake Cooper and Ahmed Mujtaba with first-round submissions.

Before he looks to trim the gap and shoot in for takedowns, however, Kade Ruotolo admits he'll need to keep an eye out for Vigna's dynamite right hand, a trademark tool of his that has massively helped him onto a 7-0 run ahead of his promotional bow in ONE Championship.

The California native told the Bangkok Post's Nick Atkin that while he may not have extensively studied 'El Paisa's' style, he'll keep a close eye for the power in his right hand, as he said:

"To be honest, not a whole lot [that I know about him]. I know he's got a solid right hand. He's knocked out a lot of people with it."

Watch the full interview here:

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Kade Ruotolo will be up against a tricky test in Nicolas Vigna

Apart from Nicolas Vigna's right hand, the ground game wizard has plenty of other weapons to watch out for coming from his Argentina foe.

The 34-year-old Rio Negro native has demonstrated his versatility across his seven career fights. Apart from three knockouts under his belt, 'El Paisa' has used a variety of submission maneuvers to finish four opponents.

While his skill set on the canvas may not be on the same level as Kade Ruotolo's, Vigna has decent takedown defense and a strong clinch game to keep the fight standing and potentially frustrate Ruotolo.

Ruotolo's scrap alongside Vigna kicks off the main card of ONE 171: Qatar.

Catch all the action live at watch.onefc.com this Thursday, Feb. 20.