"The leg locks are there" - Kade Ruotolo insists his submissions are more lethal than ever after MMA crossover

After making his MMA debut several months ago at ONE 167, Kade Ruotolo has shifted back into his submission grappling mindset. His elite jiu-jitsu skills will always be the foundation of his game and the ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion doesn't intend on leaving this world behind despite his goals in MMA.

The champ's ability to finish fights was on full display against Blake Cooper at the Impact Arena and he believes that he's always getting better through repetition. Kade, as always, will look for the finish in his next contest which sees him compete in a grappling super fight at ONE 168 in Denver.

He will be defending his lightweight title against the flyweight king, Mikey Musumeci in a high-stakes clash at the Ball Arena on Sept. 6.

During his preparations, he spoke in an interview with ONE Championship about how he's locked into his submission abilities heading into this particular match following his MMA debut:

"We love taking our opponents down, passing and finishing, things like that. So, obviously, we still have all those pillars instilled into us, but, you know, we're never gonna forget about our leg locks. The leg locks are there."

Finishing Mikey Musumeci will be a tough ask for Kade Ruotolo

Kade Ruotolo may be a very effective finisher but Mikey Musumeci is a very difficult opponent to put away. His grappling IQ normally sees him remaining one step ahead of his opponents at all times.

He's also a fellow master of leg attacks which will make for some very interesting exchanges if that's where the contest ends up going. The key for the defending champion in this match-up is to use his physical advantages as the bigger man.

Musumeci is used to taking on big challenges but Kade is also an elite competitor who happens to be several weight classes bigger than 'Darth Rigatoni'.

Tickets for ONE 168: Denver are available via Ticketmaster.