Kade Ruotolo shares the challenges of training for ADCC matches

Apart from tearing up the IBJJF ranks since he was a little boy, Kade Ruotolo also rose to prominence by plying his trade in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Submission Fighting World Championship.

In fact, the reigning ONE lightweight world champion is the competition’s youngest-ever world champion, wreaking havoc at the World Championship last year at just 19 years of age.

Known as the “Olympics of Grappling”, ADCC follows the standard format of weight class brackets in jiu-jitsu tournaments.

Along with his twin brother and fellow ONE athlete Tye Ruotolo, Kade has been competing in such tourneys since he was practically in diapers.

In a recent interview with the Jiu-Jitsu Times, the Atos standout said the biggest challenge of competing in ADCC is the uncertainty of who your opponent will be:

“The main thing is, when preparing for ADCC, you might have an idea of who you might be going against at some point, but there’s no way to train specifically for one person – because you might not get that person.”

While participants can prepare for their first opponent, it gets trickier as you advance up the brackets.

Most of the time, people have a faint idea of who will move on to the next round, but it’s not set in stone like in any other combat sport. Upsets happen occasionally, and fighting an opponent you weren’t ready for is usually the case.

Considering there’s no ADCC this year, Ruotolo, for now, can put all his attention on just one person for his upcoming return to the Circle.

He will look to defend his lightweight submission grappling throne for the second time, against fellow ADCC alum Tommy Langaker in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs Menshikov on Prime Video.

The entire card will emanate live from the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok on June 9, and stream free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in North America.