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Revisit the moment that Kade Ruotolo became the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion.
In May 2022, Ruotolo started his legendary ONE Championship run with a unanimous decision win against Shinya Aoki. Five months later, the American superstar was matched up against Uali Kurzhev at ONE on Prime Video 3 to determine the first lightweight submission grappling king.
Ruotolo was coming off an unforgettable run at the ADCC World Championship, where he submitted four consecutive opponents to claim a gold medal. At ONE on Prime Video 3, he continued his historic calendar year by taking out Kurzhev with a heel hook to conquer the lightweight division.
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ONE posted Ruotolo's entire four-and-a-half-minute battle with Kurzhev on YouTube, which can be seen below:
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Since then, Kade Ruotolo has defended his lightweight throne against Matheus Gabriel and Tommy Langaker, all unanimous decisions. Ruotolo also took out Francisco Lo by a rear-naked choke in a catchweight bout.
Ruotolo's latest appearance under the ONE banner took place on June 7 at ONE 167. The 21-year-old made his professional MMA debut against Blake Cooper, with the submission grappling king winning by first-round rear-naked choke.
Kade Ruotolo and Mikey Musumeci battle to determine ONE submission grappling king
On September 6, ONE Championship will travel to Denver, Colorado, for their highly-anticipated return to North America. In the ONE 168 co-main event, Kade Ruotolo is scheduled to defend his lightweight throne against ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci.
Ruotolo vs Musumeci is expected to be one of the greatest submission grappling matches of all time. Both ONE world champions hold undefeated promotional records, with Musumeci holding one more win at 7-0.
At ONE 168, Musumeci looks to further show that size doesn't matter in submission grappling as he moves up three weight classes to face Ruotolo. Meanwhile, Ruotolo plans to emerge victorious and add another world-class name to his resume, further proving he's one of the best grapplers on the planet.
ONE 168 goes down inside the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Tickets for the must-see event on September 6 can be found on Ticketmaster.
