Submission Hunting: Revisiting Both Times The Ruotolo Brothers Fought On The Same ONE Card
On April 5 in U.S. primetime, reigning ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo will defend his gold against Australian standout Izaak Michell.
About an hour before that, Ruotolo’s twin brother – current ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion Kade Ruotolo – will enter the same ring to battle dangerous BJJ black belt Francisco Lo in a non-title 180-pound catchweight tilt.
Lifelong competitors and two of the top pound-for-pound submission grapplers on the planet, the Ruotolo brothers have twice before appeared on the same ONE Championship card.
While they are each renowned as elite finishers and are both undefeated in ONE, the Ruotolos have been unable to go two-for-two on finishes when they’ve shared the bill, and they undoubtedly hope the third time is the charm at ONE Fight Night 21.
Before the 21-year-old phenoms return to action in Bangkok, Thailand, let’s look back at the two times they’ve competed on the same lineup.
Dominant Debuts At ONE 157
In May 2022 at ONE 157, just five months after receiving their BJJ black belts, the young Ruotolos made their highly anticipated debuts in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
They didn’t disappoint.
First, Kade locked horns with former ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion and grappling icon Shinya Aoki.
Over the course of 10 blistering minutes, the Californian threw the kitchen sink at the Japanese veteran, showcasing his incredible versatility and creative aggression, even jumping off the Circle Wall to take Aoki’s back.
While he put on a sensational showing, Ruotolo was unable to secure the submission and was awarded the decision win.
In the very next fight, Tye hardly broke a sweat in his dismantling of decorated BJJ black belt and top featherweight MMA contender Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon.
Ruotolo needed just over 90 seconds to secure his trademark D’Arce choke and announce himself as a force to be reckoned with on the global stage.
Tough Battles At ONE Fight Night 5
Following his win over Aoki, Kade became the youngest-ever ADCC World Champion and then claimed the inaugural ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title with a heel hook submission to solidify himself as a pound-for-pound great at just 19 years old.
At ONE Fight Night 5 in December 2022, he returned for the first defense of his gold when he squared off with multiple-time IBJJF World Champion Matheus Gabriel.
Like his first match in ONE, the American put on an electrifying performance and was a buzzsaw of activity as he pushed his foe to the limit for 10 full minutes. Yet again, though, he was stymied in his efforts to secure the submission.
Earlier in the night, Tye made his sophomore appearance in the organization when he took on former ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Marat “Cobra” Gafurov.
While he was tested by the Russian veteran’s heavy top game, Ruotolo was ultimately able to find a triangle choke and then an armbar finish around the match’s midpoint.
Now, with both brothers reigning as ONE World Titleholders, they will look to finally lock in a 100 percent submission rate on April 5.
