Tommy Langaker has made it very clear who he wants to stand across from the next time that he steps inside the circle.
The Norwegian Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist has produced two wins under the ONE Championship banner, the most recent of which came at ONE Fight Night 7 against Uali Kurzhev.
After the titleholder had already mentioned his name in a post-fight interview, Langaker is hoping to square off with lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo in the near future.
Both men have proven themselves to be the two best guys in the division right now. Both Langaker and Ruotolo have a shared opponent in Kurzhev, and whilst they both submitted him via heel hook, Langaker was able to make a statement on February 24 by doing it faster than the champ.
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Following his victory at ONE Fight Night 7, Tommy Langaker issued this warning to the world champion in an interview with the South China Morning Post:
“Just get ready, you know, I’m gonna turn you into Sideshow Bob after I’m done with you, so let’s go.”
Watch the full interview below:
In his most recent outing, Kade Ruotolo successfully defended his world championship for the first time at ONE Fight Night 5 with a unanimous decision win over Matheus Gabriel.
“Nothing too personal” – Kade Ruotolo on why he called out Tommy Langaker
Lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo was the first man to suggest a potential matchup with Tommy Langaker in the future.
Since his victory at ONE Fight Night 7 against Uali Kurzhev, the Norwegian has had one thing on his mind and that’s competing against the world champion next time out.
After Ruotolo became the division’s inaugural champion following a win of his own over sambo world champion Kurzhev, he mentioned Langaker’s name when talking about potential opponents for his title defenses.
After becoming the youngest ever ADCC world champion at just 19 years old, Kade shared some words with Tommy Langaker, who was also a competitor in the tournament.
Whilst he made it clear that there was nothing personal following their meeting at the ADCC after-party, Ruotolo said:
“It was nothing too crazy. Nothing too personal. Afterward there were talks about this match...me and Tommy... And the after party, he was like, 'Yeah, when are we going to go?'"
The world champion continued:
"I think we were all a bit woozy. It was a bit of a crazy night but it was no foul play really. It was cool, but at the same time, he came at me with interesting energy I'd say, and he kind of fired me up to have a match with him.”