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After going 0-3 against Kade Ruotolo, Tommy Langaker is moving on from his rivalry with ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo... For now.
In his last two outings, Langaker gave everything he had to dethrone Ruotolo and hand the Atos BJJ superstar the first loss of his ONE Championship run. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be as Ruotolo instead handed the Norwegian sensation back-to-back losses via unanimous decision, retaining his 26 pounds of ONE gold in the process.
The pair also faced off in the quarterfinals of the CJI under 80kg bracket, with the American once again edging out the Norwegian grappler.
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With a win in his next outing, Langaker could find himself right back in the title picture, but for now, he'd prefer to put his feud with Ruotolo on the back burner. Speaking to Nick Atkin ahead of his return to the ring this Friday night, Langaker said:
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"I’m not really too bummed about that match in general. I got back at him at CJI and I performed better".
"It’s Kade so, I was ready for it. But it is what it is. It was a good match. It was a good trip. We’ve fought three times now, so I guess I’m gonna put it on hold a little bit. Nobody wants to see that match again now. Hats off to him."
Check out Nick Atkin's ONE Fight Night 27 pre-event interviews below:
Tommy Langaker battles Dante Leon in a long-awaited rematch at ONE Fight Night 27
Hoping to snap his two-match winless streak, Tommy Langaker returns to the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok on Friday, Jan. 10 for a showdown with two-time IBJJF world champion Dante Leon.
Though it will be the first time Langaker and Leon have done battle on martial arts' biggest global stage, the two previously met at the IBJJF Pan American championships in 2018. On that night, Langaker defeated Leon on points.
Nearly seven years later, Leon will have the chance to even the series and move himself up the contender's ladder in ONE Championship.
Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE Fight Night 27 live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, Jan. 10 in U.S. primetime.
