“It felt like a win-win” – Kade Ruotolo explains why he wanted MMA fight with Shinya Aoki on just hours’ notice

On the day of the event, Kade Ruotolo clarified his decision to challenge Shinya Aoki in an MMA fight.

On Jan. 28, Aoki was set to face off against Sage Northcutt at ONE 165. However, due to reported issues with Northcutt’s cornerman gaining entry into Japan, the American fighter had to withdraw from the lightweight MMA bout just before it was scheduled to take place.

Despite the unfortunate circumstances, former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion John Lineker stepped up with minimal notice and ultimately suffered a first-round submission defeat against Aoki. However, Lineker’s efforts were not in vain as he was not the only fighter to offer his assistance.

During an interview with SCMP, 21-year-old superstar Kade Ruotolo expressed his desire to fight in MMA against Aoki, whom he had previously defeated in his promotional debut, and then go on to defend his ONE lightweight submission grappling world title against Tommy Langaker at ONE 165.

“Sage, something happened with his cornerman so he wasn’t able to fight anymore. Knowing Shinya’s background is pretty much jiu-jitsu in his MMA fights, I thought it would be a solid debut matchup and I thought about it.”

Ruotolo went on to say:

“I thought it would be jiu-jitsu vs jiu-jitsu and it would be exciting. For my MMA debut, it felt like a win-win almost. Why not? I could still do my jiu-jitsu match after. I was confident I could get the job done and still do my jiu-jitsu match.”

View Ruotolo’s interview with SCMP below:

Kade Ruotolo aims to maintain unbeaten ONE submission grappling record before transitioning to MMA

On April 5, Kade Ruotolo will be making his sixth appearance in a submission grappling match for ONE Championship. However, this time he will not be defending his lightweight title. Instead, he is set to go up against the highly-regarded new addition to the promotion, Francisco Lo, at ONE Fight Night 21.

Despite the uncertain outcome, Ruotolo remains determined to compete in MMA later this year. While the details of his upcoming fight, including the opponent and date, are still unknown, fans eagerly anticipate the world-renowned jiu-jitsu athlete’s expansion into the world of combat sports.

The highly anticipated ONE Fight Night 21 will take place at the renowned Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. Fans can catch all the action, including two world title bouts and the exciting appearance of Kade’s twin brother Tye Ruotolo, through a live broadcast available for free to viewers in North America with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.