WATCH: Kade Ruotolo becomes inaugural lightweight submission grappling champ, submits Uali Kurzhev in Kuala Lumpur

Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) phenom Kade Ruotolo locked horns with Uali Kurzhev for the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship at ONE on Prime Video 3 in October 2022.

Coming off a stellar promotional debut win in May of that year over former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki, the American star was out to surpass expectations inside the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The 21-year-old did just that. Ruotolo's strength and agility led to him locking in a heel hook that forced Kurzhev to tap out midway through their 10-minute encounter.

Relive Kade Ruotolo's championship-winning performance below, as shared by ONE on Instagram:

Ruotolo then successfully defended the lightweight submission grappling crown in heated matchups with Matheus Gabriel and Norwegian megastar Tommy Langaker, whom Ruotolo defeated twice.

This past June, the BJJ wunderkind earned his seventh straight win in ONE by submitting Blake Cooper in his MMA debut at ONE 167.

The Atos product will next defend the 26 pounds of lightweight submission grappling gold against ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci at ONE 168: Denver on September 6 inside the Ball Arena.

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Mikey Musumeci shares game plan for ONE 168 showdown with Kade Ruotolo

Mikey Musumeci is prepared for Kade Ruotolo to throw all types of submission holds his way in the hopes of successfully defending the ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship at ONE 168: Denver.

Speaking with ONE Championship, Musumeci stated:

"Like I told you, I have to choose every sequence very wisely. And that's up to me in my training right now to see, like, can I get countered here with a flying armbar, with a D'arce choke, with a flying something? That's how the Ruotolos are."

Watch ONE 168 live inside the Ball Arena on September 6. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.