Kade Ruotolo says ONE Championship tenure has propelled his brand: “It’s been amazing”

With fame comes great responsibility, and ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo can certainly relate to that.

The 20-year-old superstar has enjoyed a successful start to his time at the Singapore-based promotion, raking up three successive wins against some of the best ground game wizards.

In his promotional bow, the then-teenager took home a unanimous decision victory versus Japanese martial arts legend Shinya Aoki. And he followed that up with a wicked heel hook to claim the inaugural crown against four-time sambo world champion Uali Kurzhev.

Most recently, the Atos representative saw off Brazilian wonderkid Matheus Gabriel at ONE on Prime Video 5 in December last year.

Those wins have helped him build up a name for himself in the submission grappling realm. And he believes ONE Championship’s ability to reach a wider audience has further fastened his quest to build his brand.

In an interview with ONE, Kade Ruotolo said:

“It's been amazing. It's been really cool. You know, like, you know, I think everyone's lying if they don't say they love it. You know, it's amazing to see. And it's so much. A lot of opportunities are coming my brother's way, and I earn my way.”

While thankful for the opportunities, the American grappling prodigy does not want to rest on his laurels. He plans to impress again when he returns to the ONE Circle at ONE Fight Night 11.

Kade defends his crown against Norwegian star Tommy Langaker at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, looking to defend his gold, build his brand, and earn a fourth back-to-back promotional win.

Fans in the US and Canada with an Amazon Prime Video subscription can tune in to ONE Fight Night 11 live on Friday, June 9.