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ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion, Kade Ruotolo, is set to make his IBJJF black belt debut.
On Thursday, Feb. 29, Ruotolo will compete at the absolute division of the IBJJF No-Gi Grand Prix in a superfight with elite black belt competitor Natan Chueng. The announcement was made courtesy of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation’s official Instagram, with the caption:
“Look who decided to join the party! Kade Ruotolo makes his IBJJF black belt debut against the very tough, very game Natan Chueng! Buy your tickets at IBJJF.com to watch Kade’s debut live at the Hangar in Costa Mesa, CA on February 29th. 📺Watch all matches live on @flograppling.”
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It won’t be Ruotolo’s first time competing on the IBJJF stage, having a great deal of success in the past as a colored belt. However, this will be his first time competing with the organization as a black belt. Ruotolo will be competing in the absolute division, which is an open-weight category.
Standing in his way of a victory will be Chueng, who is currently ranked No. 7 in work by FloGrappling in his weight class. He recently earned a bronze medal in lightweights while competing at the 2024 IBJJF European Championships. He also holds victories over talented practitioners, including JT Torres and Elijah Dorsey, in IBJJF competition.
Kade Ruotolo makes history twice in one year
In 2022, Kade Ruotolo became the youngest competitor in ADCC history to win gold, submitting Micael Galvão in the tournament final. That same year, Ruotolo made history under the ONE Championship banner, besting four-time Sambo world champion Uali Kurzhev to win this inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world title.
Ruotolo has since defended the belt on three separate occasions, earning dominant decision victories over Matheus Gabriel and Norwegian standout Tommy Langaker in back-to-back meetings. Overall, he is 5-0 inside the Circle with 26 career victories to his credit.
Once he takes care of a bit of business with Natan Chueng, who would you like to see Kade Ruotolo defend his world title against later this year?
