Greatness knows no boundaries. The same can be said for Kade Ruotolo's ability to keep his foot on the gas pedal in his MMA expedition thus far.
The ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion moved to 2-0 in the all-encompassing discipline at ONE 169 inside the Lumpinee Stadium last Friday, Nov. 8.
Despite facing a far tougher challenge this time around, Ruotolo made it look relatively easy against Pakistani standout Ahmed Mujtaba, getting him done and out in 64 seconds of the opening frame.
Though it was a D'arce choke that made the victory possible, it was his booming overhand that marked the beginning of the end for 'Wolverine'.
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Talking on his out-of-the-box right hand that instantly dropped Mujtaba, Kade Ruotolo admits it was something that he had worked on tirelessly throughout fight camp right until the moment he began his walk down the ramp.
The 21-year-old shared:
"My coaches put so much work into me. The combo that we finished, or at least the combo that knocked him down today, was a combo we were doing in the back room right before, countless times."
"High-low-over, right? So it's just trial and error, trial and error until you get to a point where there are no more errors."
Watch the full interview here:
Kade Ruotolo says he wants to stay at the top in submission grappling and MMA
Moments after he acquired another submission finish to stay perfect in MMA (2-0), Kade Ruotolo told circle-side color commentator Mitch Chilson that his goal moving forward is to stay at the top of the submission grappling and MMA realm.
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt said:
"I want to stay on top of the mountain in jiu-jitsu, of course, defend my belt with ONE Championship, and also build my record in MMA. My heart's in MMA if I'm being honest. I love MMA."
While he still has plenty of catching up in the latter, all signs point towards an upward trajectory for Kade Ruotolo in the all-inclusive sport.
North American fans can watch the entire ONE 169 card via replay on Amazon Prime Video.