Tommy Langaker recalls how competing at the start of his career helped him overcome fear

At ONE Fight Night 11, Tommy Langaker will reach the pinnacle of his submission grappling career thus far.

After producing back-to-back wins inside the Circle over Renato Canuto and Uali Kurzhev, Langaker has earned himself a shot at the world championship.

On June 9 at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, he will face off against Kade Ruotolo for the lightweight title after the two men shared words at last year's ADCC finals.

This is the match-up that he has been chasing down since arriving in ONE Championship, the opportunity to prove himself as not just the best in his weight class in Europe, but the best in the world.

Ahead of this huge contest, Norway’s Langaker has been reflecting on the earlier stages of his career now that it has led him all the way to a world championship shot.

Having started training Jiu-Jitsu full-time in 2011 and dedicating himself to traveling across the world to compete in competitions, Langaker found that this came with added personal benefits alongside the physical competition.

In an interview with ONE Championship, the 29-year old revealed that as he got more experience competing on international stages all over the world, it helped him handle the high stakes and big occasions that will surely prove to be invaluable experience for his next contest:

“Since I started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu so late, part of my life where I traveled a lot and did traditional jiu-jitsu and competition, I got the edge of getting [rid of] all those nerves. I know how to handle the competition.”

Tommy Langaker will face off with Kade Ruotolo for the lightweight submission grappling world championship at ONE Fight Night 11. The entire card will air live and free on June 9 via Prime Video for North American viewers.