“Trying to show some change in the sport”– Kade Ruotolo says winning against fighters on PEDs is a huge motivation

In recent weeks, Kade Ruotolo has established himself as one of the biggest names in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The teenager became the youngest competitor to win the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship last month.

The 19-year-old then went on to make ONE Championship history. He became the first-ever ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion after tapping out sambo sensation Uali Kurzhev via heel hook.

Kade Ruotolo takes great pride in his accomplishments and is more than grateful for the efforts that ONE Championship has made to popularize BJJ. More than anything, Ruotolo said he and his brother want to represent a "cleaner" sport:

“At the end of the day, it is almost what my brother and I pride ourselves most on. Obviously, the wins are great, the belts are great... But at the end of the day, we're out there trying for the bigger picture, just trying to show some change in the sport because, like, I really believe 98-99% of athletes in jiu-jitsu are on some sort of performance-enhancing drug. That's obviously one of the biggest things for us.”

Unlike combat sports such as MMA and boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitors are rarely subjected to testing for performance-enhancing drugs. As such, the Ruotolo brothers believe that a lot of athletes use this to their advantage during tournaments - something they want to change in their sport.

Watch Ruotolo's post-fight interview below:

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Kade Ruotolo plans to show off his striking in the near future

At 19 years of age, Kade Ruotolo has already established himself as one of the greatest submission grapplers in the world. Now the ONE world champion is ready to try his hand, quite literally, at mixed martial arts. Ruotolo revealed that he has been regularly training his striking over the years and would likely transition to MMA in 2023:

"I believe I've been training jiu-jitsu my entire life, obviously, that's my strong suit. However, I do love striking. It's not like I'm just now picking it up. Over the years, I'm striking, I think we were about 12 years old. We were training a bit of Muay Thai for a couple of years. I have a bit in me, it's not like I'm completely new to the game, and I'm falling in love with it every day."

It’s too early to say who will share the circle with Kade Ruotolo when he makes his highly-anticipated MMA debut. However, the young star has shown interest in mixing it up with Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki.