“Within the first six months of next year” - Kade Ruotolo offers a timeline for his MMA debut

Submission specialist Kade Ruotolo joined fellow grappling sensation Mikey Musumeci as one of the first two submission grappling world champions under the ONE Championship banner this past Friday night.

Ruotolo delivered a spectacular heel hook submission against sambo world champion Uali Kurzhev. In doing so, he became the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion.

With his win at ONE on Prime Video 3 and his historic run at the ADCC Submission Fighting Championship a month prior, Ruotolo has quickly established himself as one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners in the world. However, that’s simply not enough for the 19-year-old prodigy.

Speaking to the media during his ONE on Prime Video 3 post-fight interview, Kade Ruotolo shared his plans to enter the world of mixed martial arts in 2023.

“Guaranteed next year, without a doubt. We will be in the circle, with gloves on. As far as what exact month, I can't be certain, there's no specific date that we have signed, but definitely preferably within the first six months of next year, guaranteed for sure.”

While Ruotolo was unable to provide any specific details about his mixed martial arts debut outside of a potential time frame, he does have a man in mind to share the circle with when he makes his highly-anticipated foray into MMA.

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Kade Ruotolo wants to run it back with Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki

Making his promotional debut at ONE 157 in May, Kade Ruotolo met former ONE lightweight champion Shinya Aoki in a submission grappling showcase.

Though he was unable to submit the Japanese MMA legend, Ruotolo scored a decision victory. With his mixed martial arts debut expected for 2023, Ruotolo is looking at a potential rematch with ‘Tobikan Judan’ for his eagerly-awaited transition:

“I think a very interesting fight would be Shinya Aoki. It would kinda be a cool rematch. He fought me in a grappling bout, MMA would be very intriguing as well. I fought him in my world, it would be really cool to fight him in his world. Maybe next year we can get that going.”

Debuting for ONE Championship more than 10 years ago, Aoki has scored 13 wins inside the circle between MMA and submission grappling. He first captured the lightweight belt in 2013 by submitting Kotetsu Boku.

In 2019, Aoki recaptured the ONE lightweight world title, defeating former champion Eduard Folayang via first-round submission. His second reign would be cut short, dropping the title to current champion Christian Lee just six weeks later.