Kade Ruotolo left Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok with his ONE lightweight submission grappling world title still intact last weekend.
However, the 20-year-old savant admits his victory at ONE Fight Night 11 over the gutsy Tommy Langaker was too close for comfort.
The youngest ADCC World Champion, who’s known for his creative ways of getting a submission, threw everything but the kitchen sink at Langaker and got him into several compromising positions.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
The crafty Norwegian grappler, however, weathered Ruotolo’s best attacks including a gnarly Estima Lock in their 10-minute scrap.
After recording one legitimate submission attempt each, it was anybody’s ball game heading into the judges’ scorecards.
Ruotolo’s tenacity and activity from the top position eventually earned him the nod, marking his second successful world title defense and improving his ONE record to 4-0.
Post-match, a relieved Ruotolo said he was happy to grind out the win but only wants decisive victories moving forward.
He shared during the ONE Fight Night 11 post-event interviews:
“I felt like my attacks were definitely much stronger. I think I definitely did enough to get the decision but it was definitely a close one, and I definitely don't want to have one like that ever again.”
Watch the full clip here:
Ruotolo was indeed in unfamiliar territory in his last outing, considering he breezed through his first three opponents in the Circle. He submitted Uali Kurzhev and out-grappled both Shinya Aoki and Matheus Gabriel in dominant fashion.
Langaker was the first challenger to give him trouble, even locking in a tight heel hook early in the bout to threaten the Atos stud’s reign.
Following a close call like that, we can expect Ruotolo to up his game and hunt for a finish in his next bout.
ONE Fight Night 11 is available on replay free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.