KADE RUOTOLO | Xposer Magazine

KADE RUOTOLO

(29-3)

ONE LIGHTWEIGHT SUBMISSION GRAPPLING WORLD CHAMPION

DIVISION: LIGHTWEIGHT SUBMISSION GRAPPLING | GYM: ATOS JIU-JITSU

Location: California, USA

  • Kade and his twin brother, Tye, were born in Maui, Hawaii, and raised in Southern California.
  • They come from Italian and Puerto Rican heritage.
  • Kade and Tye began training BJJ at age 3 and were awarded their black belts at age 18.
  • The twin brothers are currently building their own BJJ gym in Costa Rica.
  • Kade enjoys surfing and skateboarding in his free time.

Kade wasn’t even a teenager when he and his twin brother started tearing up the BJJ scene. In 2013, they began training with the famed Mendes brothers at AOJ Academy to pursue grappling at an elite level. Then in 2017, the Ruotolos switched to Atos and have been under the tutelage of the legendary Andre Galvao ever since.

Kade won the IBJJF World Championship at the brown belt level in December 2021, and Galvao awarded the twins their black belts just a few days later.

Kade’s debut performance in ONE proved that he would be a future star in the promotion. He secured a dominant unanimous decision victory over Japanese legend Shinya Aoki at ONE 157 in May 2022.

After his win over Aoki, Kade competed in the 2022 ADCC World Championships and became the youngest World Champion in the event’s history.

Kade made history again when he submitted Russia’s Uali Kurzhev to win the inaugural ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title in October 2022. After making hjs MMA debut at ONE 167 in June, Kade will make a quick turnaround to defend his lightweight submission grappling strap against fellow American Mikey Musumeci at ONE 168 in September.