Kade Ruotolo and Tommy Langaker engage in grappling chess match at ONE Fight Night 11

ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo was taken to the limit in the second defense of his world title. The 20-year-old BJJ prodigy went against a gutsy Tommy Langaker in the co-headlining bout of ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs. Menshikov on Prime Video last Friday.

The bout was a nail-biting submission grappling battle that saw Kade Ruotolo narrowly edging Langaker out with a unanimous decision win. ONE Championship posted a highlights video of the bout on YouTube:

"Reigning champion Kade Ruotolo and Norwegian submission wizard Tommy Langaker went toe-to-toe in a heated ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Championship tilt!"

The action went from 0 to 60 right from the get-go as Kade Ruotolo did a fake-out, leading to an emphatic outside trip. The fight hit the ground at the 8:48 mark with Ruotolo on top.

From the bottom, Langaker scored the first catch-submission attempt as he went for a tight heel hook coming off of his Matrix back-take. The submission looked threatening enough, but the world champ kept rolling away to escape the hold.

With the score 1-0 in favor of the challenger, Ruotolo went into berzerk mode as usual, unleashing his unstoppable pressure passing game. Langaker, however, proved yet again that his guard is utterly impenetrable, showcasing some stellar defensive techniques.

Over halfway through the bout, the world champion is still down on the scoreboard, with Langkaker's early catch-submission attempt giving him the upper hand.

With three minutes left in the bout, Ruotolo evened the score with one legitimate submission attempt as he locked in an Achilles lock from the top position.

With the score 1-1 in the match's dying seconds, Ruotolo attempted a Hail-Mary straight armbar and another Achilles lock, but Langaker's defense was again on point. With the score even at the final bell, Kade Ruotolo's unstoppable aggression won him the judges' decision.

In his post-match interview, Ruotolo told Mitch Chilson what the future holds for him and who he wants next:

“Whoever wants it really. I’m really looking towards MMA, to be honest with you. MMA is really in my heart, and I’ve been training it.”

North American fans keen to catch Ruotolo's victory at ONE Fight Night 11 can do so via replay on Amazon Prime Video.