WATCH: Kade Ruotolo’s relentless back takes in the ONE Championship Circle

Kade Ruotolo (top) vs. Uali Kurzhev at ONE on Prime Video 3. (Image courtesy of ONE)
Kade Ruotolo (in black) vs. Uali Kurzhev at ONE on Prime Video 3 [Image courtesy of ONE]

Move over Aljamain Sterling, ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo is the true definition of a "human backpack." The 19-year-old ADCC world champion relentlessly pursues his opponent's back to get a finish.

The best way to describe Ruotolo is that he is a vicious koala bear - once he latches onto your back, good luck shaking him off.

In a recent video posted by ONE Championship on Instagram, we saw Ruotolo hunting for the backs of Shinya Aoki and Uali Kurzhev:

"Kade Ruotolo hunts the back 😳 @ruotolobrothersjiujitsu"

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Getting into a wild scramble with Kade Ruotolo might be the worst decision you'll make in a grappling match as he never stops until he finds his legs hooked around you from behind. The ONE lightweight submission grappling king's muscle endurance, and power in his hips and core is, for the lack of a better term, inhuman.

No human of that size is supposed to be that agile. Kade Ruotolo is indeed an elite amongst the elite in the submission grappling world.


Kade Ruotolo handily submitted Uali Kurzhev to become the first-ever ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion

Last weekend at ONE on Prime Video 3, Kade Ruotolo scored a win for BJJ in the on-going Russian Sambo vs. Brazilian jiu-jitsu rivalry by submitting Uali Kurzhev in just under 5 minutes. In front of a massive crowd in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the BJJ prodigy snatched the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world title by giving the Sambo specialist a taste of his own medicine: a leglock.

Both grapplers pulled out their best weapons right from the get-go, with Kurzhev going for trips, snap-downs and throws while Ruotolo came out with his frenetic grappling counters. Once the fight hit the ground, however, the young BJJ lion dominated the Sambo champion.

When Kurzhev attempted one of Sambo's trademark leglocks, it was the beginning of the end for him. Ruotolo sensed an opening during the entanglement and finished the fight via a nasty belly-down heel hook.

Speaking in his post-fight interview, Ruotolo explained:

"He did look for my legs but it was very far-fetched. When it comes up to the leglocks, my brother's [Tye] nice defense is some of the top out there. We've dedicated the last couple of years to leglock defense and when it comes to leglocks, I don't think there's anyone in the world that can leglock us. And, you know, I think often times it shows a counter for us, which is kind of what happened there."

Watch the post-match interview here:

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Edited by Virat Deswal
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