"They always push the pace" - Kade Ruotolo thrilled to share the ring with game opponent at ONE Fight Night 21

Reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo was delighted to fight Francisco Lo last Friday at ONE Fight Night 21, which went down inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Ruotolo was not only happy about getting the submission over Lo during their 180-pound catchweight submission grappling bout, but also because of the way that the Brazilian pushed the pace of their match.

The Atos representative revealed this during his interview with Sportskeeda MMA, as he stated:

"I think, you know, especially those two in particular [Francisco Lo and Izaak Michell], those guys are, they push the pace, you know. Sometimes you do get a matchup where, you know, it's a high-level competitor, but again they still don't really come for that finish. So, you know, it could be a 50/50 thing there."

Due to their similarly aggressive style, more submission attempts were presented during the match, and eventually, the 21-year-old BJJ phenom found a way to finish the fight with the technique he pioneered, called the 'Ruotolo-tine.'

Kade Ruotolo was able to manifest that his twin brother, Tye, could also win his fight against Izaak Michell using the same technique, and it materialized in the co-main event of the same card.

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Kade Ruotolo prepared for MMA debut against Blake Cooper at ONE 167

After months of speculation about his highly anticipated MMA debut, Kade Ruotolo was officially booked to fight Blake Cooper on June 7 as part of the loaded ONE 167 card inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

Despite losing his promotional debut in September 2023, Cooper remains a dangerous opponent for Kade because he has a complete MMA arsenal and can fight on the feet and on the ground.

North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch all the action from ONE Fight Night 21 via the free event replay.