Kade Ruotolo says self-esteem wasn’t at its best before Tommy Langaker clash

Having to deal with a nagging injury just three weeks out before his contest against Tommy Langaker, Kade Ruotolo wasn’t too confident that he could navigate his way to victory at ONE Fight Night 11.

The Atos representative entered his ONE lightweight submission grappling world title defense, knowing he was not at 100 percent.

And not being able to compete to the fullest against a tricky grappler like Langaker was a valid reason to be concerned about.

Despite being limited to showcase a fraction of his gallery of moves on the canvas, the youngest-ever ADCC world champion ended the contest with his hand raised after a nail-biting 10-minute affair.

As joyful as he was after the win, however, Kade Ruotolo told the South China Morning Post that he wasn’t entirely convinced that he was going to leave the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, with his perfect record intact.

The 20-year-old said:

“Anytime you're not training before a competition, even though you've been training your whole life, you just have those little thoughts like, am I physically ready? Am I mentally ready? Just little questions like that, and I was feeling a lot of those.”

Watch the full interview below:

Thankfully, he overcame that last-minute mental barrier, dishing out another strong performance and defending his belt for the second time under the ONE Championship spotlight.

Now, Kade Ruotolo sports a pristine 4-0 record in submission grappling on the global stage of the Singapore-based organization. He hopes to debut in MMA next.

North American fans can catch his performance at ONE Fight Night 11 via replay on Amazon Prime Video.