Mikey Musumeci thinks Kade Ruotolo might open up a can of worms if he hunts for Tommy Langaker’s back

With them both being ONE submission grappling world champions, Kade Ruotolo and Mikey Musumeci are undoubtedly the two flag bearers for the exciting discipline in ONE Championship.

Following Musumeci’s second title defense against Osamah Almarwai at ONE Fight Night 10, Kade goes up next for his turn to defend his crown.

At ONE Fight Night 11 on June 9, he will face off against a fellow jiu-jitsu specialist in Norway’s Tommy Langaker, a contest that fans have been waiting to see for a long time.

Ever since the back-and-forth confrontation they shared at the ADCC finals last year following Kade’s record breaking win, this matchup has been on the cards. Submission grappling fans are eagerly anticipating this battle of ground technicians. So too is ONE flyweight submission grappling king Mikey Musumeci.

Due to both men’s styles, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ is expecting an enthralling affair with both competitors chasing the submission rather than trying to stall or cancel each other out.

In an interview with ONE Championship, he spoke about how he expects Langaker’s style to gel with Kade Ruotolo and his aggressive approach:

“If Kade goes into that game [back taking] with him, Tommy might be really good at countering and attacking his back.”

He added:

“Tommy only knows one pace, and that’s going forward and attacking. And Ruotolo, I don’t think he knows anything else except attacking.”

With the long build-up to their eventual meeting inside the circle, Ruotolo is coming into this particular matchup with a real point to prove.

North American fans with an Amazon prime subscription can catch the entire ONE Fight Night 11 card live and for free.