MMA debutant Kade Ruotolo ‘fascinated’ by all things martial arts: “I’ll take up Jeet Kune Do”

After making his mark in the world of submission grappling, Kade Ruotolo is ready to take over mixed martial arts — but he doesn't plan on stopping there.

On Friday, June 7, the reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champions will strap on the four-ounce gloves for a clash with American standout Blake Cooper in an MMA bout at ONE 167 inside the iconic Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

While Ruotolo has big dreams of becoming a world champion in MMA, just as he's done in BJJ, he is already considering what could come next after building a legacy in not one, but two sports.

"After MMA, after I achieve my goals and dreams, who knows? Maybe I’ll take up a little bit of Jeet Kune Do or whatever it may be next," Ruotolo said on the Talk-Jitsu Podcast. "There’s a lot of different martial arts out there that are amazing. I am fascinated by them."

Jeet Kune Do is a hybrid martial art developed by the legendary Bruce Lee in 1967. Dubbed 'the formless form,' the unique style of combat was developed based on Lee's experiences in unarmed combat and self-defense. Jeet Kune Do also embraces eclectic, Zen Buddhist and Taoist philosophies in its teachings.

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Kade Ruotolo returns to submission grappling for superfight with Mikey Musumeci at ONE 168

In addition to his massive mixed martial arts debut at ONE 167, Kade Ruotolo will return to submission grappling for an epic encounter with one of the greatest BJJ practitioners on the planet, Mikey Musumeci.

Musumeci, the current ONE flyweight submission grappling world titleholder, will move up three weight classes to challenge Ruotolo in hopes of becoming the promotion's first-ever two-division grappling champ. Their super fight will go down on Friday, September 6 when ONE Championship returns to the United States for ONE 168: Denver.

But first, Ruotolo will have to take care of business in his MMA debut against the returning Blake Cooper.

ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 167 live and for free via Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime on Friday, June 7.

And you can follow this link for tickets for ONE 168: Denver on September 6 at Ball Arena.