Kade Ruotolo named ONE Championship's 2024 MMA and submission grappling fighter of the year

Kade Ruotolo embraced superstardom in 2024 after making waves in two combat sports disciplines.

Rightfully so, ONE Championship awarded the 21-year-old phenom as the promotion's 2024 MMA and submission grappling fighter of the year.

After taking the home of martial arts by storm in 2023, Ruotolo began the year with a bang by defending his lightweight submission grappling crown against Tommy Langaker at ONE 165 in Tokyo, Japan.

The CJI under 80kg tournament winner put on a dominating performance over the Norweigan BJJ ace in their rematch, erasing all doubts after their close first encounter.

Kade Ruotolo returned at ONE Fight Night 21 by giving Francisco Lo a rude welcome to ONE Championship. The 21-year-old shut down the electric Brazilian and forced him to yield via a spectacular head and arm choke variation later dubbed as the 'Ruotolotine'.

After teasing his fans about donning the four-ounce gloves, Ruotolo walked the talk by making his highly-awaited MMA debut at ONE 167. The Atos standout didn't look like a neophyte at all when he beat up Blake Cooper and finished him off with a rear-naked choke in less than a round.

Itching for more, Ruotolo ended 2024 on a high note with a remarkable sophomore MMA outing at ONE 169. Facing MMA veteran Ahmed Mujtaba, the decorated grappler surprised everyone when he dropped 'Wolverine' with a missile-like overhand right.

After softening up the Pakistani with some ground-and-pound, Ruotolo latched on to his opponent's exposed neck and got his second straight win via tap courtesy of his signature D'Arce choke.

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What's next for Kade Ruotolo in 2025?

There are plenty of possibilities for Kade Ruotolo this calendar year, especially after the massive leap he made in 2024.

The promotion's lightweight submission grappling division certainly got a lot more exciting following the arrival of BJJ stars Dante Leon and Cole Abate, who both made triumphant promotional debuts.

Fabricio 'Hokage' Andrey is another exciting addition who could soon challenge Ruotolo.

Over the MMA side of things, the youngest ADCC world champion could disrupt the lightweight MMA ranks if he continues to climb the ladder and display mind-numbing performances in four-ounce gloves.

The 170-pound MMA division is currently governed by Christian Lee, and a showdown between these two no longer seems too farfetched.