“Dedicated the last couple of years to leglock defense” - Kade Ruotolo says he and brother Tye cannot get leglocked

Kade Ruotolo had a dominant showing at ONE on Prime Video 3, where he snatched inaugural belt from sambo specialist Uali Kruzhev. The Russian contender tried one of Sambo's specialties, leglocks, which ultimately became his undoing. Kade Ruotolo reversed the attempt and turned it into a leglock of his own.

It's almost as if Ruotolo liked that Kurzhev ïnitiated the leg entanglement as it allowed him the entry he needed for the heel hook finish. In his post-fight interview, Ruotolo was asked if Kurzhev's leglock attack threatened him at all, to which he responded:

"The one when he did look for my legs but it was very far-fetched. When it comes up to the leglocks, I feel like, [Tye] my brother's nice defense is some of the top out there, for sure. We've dedicated the last couple of years to leglock defense and when it comes to leglocks, I don't think there's anyone in the world that can leglock us. And, you know, I think often times it shows a counter for us, which is kind of what happened there."

Kade Ruotolo indeed saw his counter opportunity the moment Uali Kurzhev inverted to isolate one of his legs. The way the 19-year-old prodigy went for and finished the heel hook showed that he's been drilling it for years. The confidence and precision of the entire sequence alone proves this.

Watch the full post-fight interview here:

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Kade Ruotolo's brother, Tye, is starting a rivalry with perhaps the greatest leglocker ever, Gordon Ryan

As of late, there has been an intense rivalry brewing in the submission grappling world. Kade Ruotolo's twin brother, the equally talented Tye Ruotolo, has been trading serious barbs with 2022 ADCC Superfight champion and No Gi jiu-jitsu icon Gordon 'The King' Ryan.

Ryan, considered by many to be the greatest No Gi Jiujitsu grappler of all time, is a five-time ADCC world champion, ADCC Superfight champion, two-time IBJJF No Gi world champion, and four-time EBI world champion. Before he entered talks about GOAT status, however, 'The King' was largely known as a great innovator of leglock attacks. He pretty much built the entire early part of his legacy on it.

The online beef started with Tye making a cheeky callout, challenging Ryan to a bout via a social media post:

“Remember that Darce at Modolfo? It would be competitive now and I’m 19 and natural. I guarantee you retire before I gain 15 pounds. Pure facts, no ill intent. Let’s do the same deal you did with Pena. No time limit.”

Ryan responded by posting a comment on the same post:

"How about you put up your 50k win bonus from ONE and I'll put up my same 100k that I did with pena? 2-1 odds no time limit. Just remember, I'm not Josh hinger, and you couldn't beat him."

Here's the post:

The two have exchanged more words in the coming days and it's evident that this budding rivalry is heating up. What we're more curious about is how Tye repells Ryan's masterful leglock attacks as his brother Kade proclaimed that they are un-leglockable.