“I’m there to support my brother” – Tye Ruotolo recalls when twin Kade almost stepped in to fight Shinya Aoki on short notice

Tye Ruotolo, the reigning and undisputed ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion, recently shared details of the unusual events that occurred during the ONE 165 sequence. His twin brother Kade had offered to step in and make his MMA debut on the spot, taking on Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki.

Last January, ‘Super’ Sage Northcutt, the American MMA prodigy who was initially scheduled to face Aoki, unexpectedly withdrew from the fight just minutes before entering the Circle, citing corner issues.

As Kade waited backstage, he was eager to make his MMA debut and expressed his desire to ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

In a recent interview with the South China Morning Post, Tye described the chaotic events that occurred backstage.

The individual, who is 21 years old, stated:

“One hundred percent. I’m there to support my brother no matter what, anything that he does. I was hoping Sage was gonna be there and keep the show on, but some things kept happening. He didn’t want to fight, so I was like, let’s go Kade is on. We were shadowboxing. I’m keeping my hands up, just throwing there, one-two, one-two. It was classic.”

It would have been quite an eventful journey if Kade Ruotolo had been given the opportunity to fight Shinya Aoki. However, in the end, it was John Lineker, a former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion, who was chosen from the audience to replace Northcutt.

Tye and Kade Ruotolo compete at ONE Fight Night 21 after extended break

Both Kade and Tye Ruotolo are scheduled to compete this weekend against separate opponents.

Tye’s first defense of his ONE welterweight submission grappling world title will be against Australia’s Izaak Michell, and Kade will compete in a 180-pound catchweight submission grappling match against Brazil’s Francisco Lo.

The highly anticipated ONE Fight Night 21, featuring Eersel vs. Nicolas, will air live from the renowned Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, April 5th via Prime Video.

Viewers in both the United States and Canada have the opportunity to watch ONE Fight Night 21: Eersel vs. Nicolas live and at no cost by subscribing to Amazon Prime Video.