Kade Ruotolo ONE 171: WATCH: Kade Ruotolo captures a hat trick of MMA wins in dominant submission finish in Qatar

ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo is quickly making a name for himself in ONE Championship's MMA ranks, especially after he captured his third straight victory this past February at ONE 171: Qatar.

After posting back-to-back first-round submissions to start his MMA run, Ruotolo was tasked with overcoming Argentinian vet Nicolas Vigna inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar.

While 'El Paisa' deftly defended against a heel hook attempt by the American Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) prodigy early on, Ruotolo was glad to show the ONE newcomer his ground-and-pound abilities. After sufficiently battering Vigna, the 22-year-old worked his way to an arm-triangle choke with about two minutes to spare in the opening round.

Watch the highlights of the fight below, which ONE posted on YouTube:

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With this victory, Ruotolo improved his ONE resume to an unblemished 9-0. This also marked his fifth submission victory across MMA and submission grappling bouts.

All things considered, the Atos product's MMA career is trending upwards. It may only be a matter of time before he finds himself challenging for his second ONE world championship — albeit in a different sport.

Kade Ruotolo grateful for continuous fan support

Kade Ruotolo might be one of the most polished and skilled grapplers in ONE, but he also knows that the fans have played a significant role in his rise to superstardom.

In the post-fight interview with veteran combat sports journalist Nick Atkin following his $50,000 performance bonus-winning outing at ONE 171, Ruotolo gave back a lot of love to the fans, saying:

"That feeling after the win, that glowing feeling you get that you can't even explain it, is because of the fans. So honestly, thank you guys so much for all supporting [us], and hope you guys catch the next one."

Watch the entire interview below:

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

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Edited by Harvey Leonard