Kade and Tye Ruotolo are still teenagers, but they already have an impressive list of achievements heading into their first matches in ONE Championship.
On Instagram, ONE Championship shared these accolades. The caption to the post reads:
“Teen BJJ phenoms Kade and Tye Ruotolo have quite the legacy at only 19 years old 🔥 Catch them both in submission grappling action against Shinya Aoki and Garry Tonon THIS FRIDAY at ONE 157! @ruotolobrothersjiujitsu”
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The picture states that the 19-year-olds have been black belts since 2021 and are undefeated in their last five matches. Kade and Tye Ruotolo have been training since they were kids and have progressed well in the sport together, as evidenced by their achievements.
In March 2022, ONE Championship announced that they signed the twins to grappling and MMA contracts. It didn’t take long for the promotion to reveal that the brothers will be in action at ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot on May 20.
The twins will be tested in fire in their very first matches. Tye will face Brazilian jiu-jitsu great Garry Tonon in his return to submission grappling, while Kade will battle Japanese martial arts legend Shinya Aoki.
Kade and Tye Ruotolo adds more depth to the submission grappling roster
ONE Championship is looking to feature submission grappling more in its events, and talents like Kade and Tye Ruotolo will help legitimize the roster further.
Although Shinya Aoki and Garry Tonon figured in the first submission grappling contest of the promotion back in 2017, both fighters have since gone on to compete primarily in MMA.
ONE X, the promotion’s 10-year anniversary showcase, marked the beginning of a new era. It re-introduced submission grappling back in a big way by featuring BJJ star Danielle Kelly and grappling legend Andre Galvao. They competed against established stars of the promotion in Mei Yamaguchi and Reinier de Ridder, respectively.
In the following event, another grappling standout in Mikey Musumeci made his promotional debut by submitting leg-lock specialist Masakazu Imanari.
The addition of Tye and Kade Ruotolo into the fold adds more stars to the submission grappling roster, and should provide exciting pairings in the future with grappling stars or MMA stars looking to test their skills on the ground.