Kade Ruotolo has achieved an extraordinary milestone – being named both MMA Fighter of the Year and Submission Grappling Fighter of the Year by ONE Championship for 2024!
This marks the first time in the promotion’s history that a single athlete has earned both honors in the same year.
Ruotolo’s transition into MMA was highly anticipated, and his debut at ONE 167 did not disappoint.
Facing Blake Cooper, Ruotolo showcased his grappling mastery by securing a submission victory in just over three minutes.
And, despite his commitments to and successes in submission grappling – for example, in winning the CJI -80kg division – Ruotolo found time to return to the MMA cage before the year’s end.
At ONE 169, he faced Ahmed Mujtaba and made an even stronger impression, securing a submission victory in just 64 seconds.
Therefore, these two lightning-fast wins in MMA, combined with his dominant displays in submission grappling, earned him the unique distinction of winning the title in both categories.
Because it was not just for his 2 wins in MMA, but also to being an unstoppable force in ONE’s grappling circuit.
He had successfully defended his submission grappling world title against Tommy Langaker at ONE 165 and later delivered a standout performance on the same card as his brother, submitting Francisco Lo in under five minutes at ONE Fight Night 21.
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