Kade Ruotolo has now had the first defence of his ONE Championship Lightweight submission grappling title, and he will be taking on IBJJF world champion Matheus Gabriel at ONE on Amazon Video 5 on Friday, 2nd December. Ruotolo became the division’s very first champion when he put on an incredible display against Sambo world champion Uali Khurzhev back at ONE on Amazon Video 3, submitting him with a heelhook to claim the belt. This made Ruotolo the second champion of the new ONE Championship submission grappling roster, after Mikey Musumeci won the very first belt in the Flyweight division just a matter of weeks before.
Although Ruotolo did look incredibly impressive against the Sambo expert Khurzhev, he will now be going back to what he knows best as he takes on a fellow BJJ black belt instead. Gabriel will be coming into his title-shot against Ruotolo fresh off the back of winning the Lightweight grand prix at BJJ Stars 9, where he defeated three top competitors in the division in the gi. He frequently competes in similar shows around Brazil and Gabriel has come away with wins on some of the biggest stages in the country against top competitors on several occasions in the past, including at BJJ Bet 2.
Gabriel’s biggest achievements have come on the IBJJF mats though, as he has won the world championships on two separate occasions in 2019 and 2021. He will no doubt present a tough challenge to the young champion as he has already earned wins over incredible competitors like Edwin Najmi, Kennedy Maciel, and Geo Martinez; and he is no stranger to no gi competition after winning a gold medal at the 2021 IBJJF pans.
The full ONE on Prime Video 3 event, including Kade Ruotolo attempting to defend his ONE Championship Lightweight Submission Grappling title against Matheus Gabriel, will be available to watch live on December 2nd on Amazon Prime, click here to subscribe and watch.
