Kade Ruotolo shares important update on twin brother Tye's recovery: "He's just been in the backburner"

Kade Ruotolo was adamant that though he could have taken the rest of the year off, he wanted to get back out there for one more contest before 2024 came to a close. He did that at ONE 169 this past weekend, where he returned to MMA for the second time in his career.

The elite submission grappler earned his second consecutive finish after submitting Ahmed Mujtaba in the first round to close out his campaign for the year. Though Kade had the opportunity to get one more in, the same can't be said for his brother Tye who has been dealing with some significant injuries.

ONE fans last saw him compete at ONE Fight Night 23 in July where despite not being at 100 percent, he was able to etch out a decision win over Jozef Chen. The ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion is hoping to come back stronger in 2025 after going through a long recovery process.

During his recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Kade Ruotolo gave the following update on his brother's progress:

"One of the only ones he didn't tear was like the ACL, thankfully. But yeah, you know meniscus, whatever, PCL, all these different ligaments so it was definitely, you know, a rough injury and he's just been in the backburner just recovering and resting."

Watch the full interview below:

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Kade Ruotolo is making up for his brother's absence

The two brothers are not the type of athletes who tend to take breaks unless they absolutely have to, as Kade Ruotolo has proven in recent months. The 21-year-old is still right at the top of his game in submission grappling whilst trying to focus on his MMA transition.

Tye also had plans to make his MMA debut in the near future but of course, they were set back due to his injuries. 2025 is sure to be another big year for the twins as they both continue to excel in all areas.