We recently got the chance to sit down with Kade Ruotolo to discuss his MMA career from all angles; the past, present, and future. Although he’s known for his incredible grappling career, Ruotolo also got his MMA record off to a perfect start at ONE 167 earlier this year. After a first-round submission win, he’s already got a lot of momentum coming into his second fight against Ahmed Muhtaba at ONE 169. We wanted to find out what it’s been like for him to transition over to MMA and considering he’s still very early in his combat sports career, what his plans are.
Hi Kade, thanks for meeting with me! That was a great performance in your MMA debut, but how did it differ from BJJ competition for you mentally?
“It was so much different than Jiu-Jitsu, in the sense that when I step on the mats for a Jiu-Jitsu tournament it feels like second nature. It just feels natural, there’s nothing on your mind. Maybe within the week before, I wouldn’t say nerves, but you have some ‘what if’ thoughts or whatever. For MMA it was a little bit the opposite, when I slapped hands it still felt new. It didn’t feel like something I’d done a million times. I don’t want to say scared or nerves, but there’s a sense of not exactly understanding what’s about to happen. Especially compared to Jiu-Jitsu where I understand 20 steps ahead. That was the biggest difference, not feeling as comfortable when the match started but as time went on I felt more and more comfortable. That’s why I wanted to get my second MMA match this year over with as soon as possible, because I really wanna gain that experience and get as comfortable as I can with it.“
You got the win by submission after some striking back then, are you planning on showing it off more in this fight?
“If I was feeling 110% physically and I had a beautiful camp leading up to it then I’d definitely try to light him up on the feet, but I have some different things going on with my body. This match kinda came up on sooner notice too so I didn’t have a full camp to train for it, so I’m just gonna be looking for the finish from the start to the end. Whether it’s in the first 10 seconds or the last 10 seconds.”
Is this going to be your last fight this year then?
“That’s where I’m leaning towards, my body’s in pieces right now. I’m barely getting through this one and once I’m out of this one, I’m gonna be chilling for sure.”
Obviously you don’t want to look past ONE 169, but do you have any opponents you want to face after Muhtaba?
“I just wanna work my way up the ladder. I feel, in the most humble way possible, I’m a very mentally strong person. I look at who the champ is in the division and I feel like if I had to fight them tomorrow then I believe I would get the win. There’s also a huge thing where my coaches and everyone is telling me that experience is the most important thing. So you need to build that experience before you give yourself an opportunity like that. That’s kinda where I’m at right now, just trying to build as much experience as I can until I get to that belt.”
Is the title the end-goal?
“Even before I made my MMA debut, I always knew that one day I was going to do MMA and I wanted to become the top at MMA. I’m realistic with myself, with surfing I know I’m never gonna get there. I love surfing with all my heart but I’m never gonna get there, but I feel that I have the potential or ability to do something great in MMA. I truly believe it, that I can get to the number one spot in MMA. That’s my goal and I’m never gonna sell myself short. The goal is to not just become the champ but become a two-division champion in MMA and then also have my Jiu-Jitsu belt. I wanna keep my Jiu-Jitsu belt and who knows, maybe even another division in Jiu-Jitsu down the line too.”
You’re going to continue competing in BJJ even as your MMA career takes off?
“That’s my goal, it’s just to become as accomplished and get as much experience as I can in the MMA world and at the same time defend my Jiu-Jitsu belt. Whatever else pops up too, if there’s another million-dollar tournament or ADCC or whatever, I wanna stay relevant and make sure that I stay at the top in Jiu-Jitsu and grind my way to the top in MMA.”
What about your brother too, Tye (Ruotolo) hasn’t had his MMA debut yet but is he still planning on it?
“Guaranteed, for sure. My brother is more of a beast than even I am, he’s gonna mess some people up for sure. He’s definitely planning on it, but in his last tournament at CJI he blew out his knee real bad. He tore pretty much every ligament except for his ACL. It was bad; MCL, PCL, meniscus, and some other ones I haven’t even heard of! He’s pretty much on the road to recovery probably until the end of the year, then he’ll come back strong next year. Like I said this’ll be my last one this year and then I’ll be recovering with him, I’ve got two torn labrums in each hip at the moment so we’re going through the ringer.”
That makes sense! What about other combat sports next year too? ONE has a big Muay Thai division, is that something you’d ever be interested in?
“It’s interesting you ask that because I feel I’m more realistic. So I’m like focusing on Jiu-Jitsu, one at a time, and then I get to MMA to focus on that. My brother just before his injury, he was all ‘I think at the end of the year I wanna take a Muay Thai fight!’ and I go ‘What?! what are you smoking?! You must be crazy bro! You don’t understand the level of Muay Thai at ONE Championship!’ Who knows though, I think every day my hands are getting better and my kicks are getting better. My striking’s always getting better and withina year or two from now, who knows, maybe that’ll be the A-side of my game instead of Jiu-Jitsu. I’ve been excelling pretty quickly and I’ve got nothing but time so you never know, it’s very possible down the line for sure.”
That would be crazy! Bringing it back to today, do you have any predictions for the fight with Muhtaba?
“I just know there’s gonna be a finish for sure, it’s definitely not gonna go the distance. It’s definitely possible I finish him on the feet and possible I finish him on the ground. If I had to pick, I honestly really couldn’t even tell you! I don’t even know what I’m going to do out there, I’m just going to go out there and fight my heart out. Whether it’s a knockout or a submission, I’m just looking for the finish.”
I can’t wait to see it! Is there anything else you want to say to our readers before you go?
“November 9th is the match so if you guys are around then please tune in, it’ll be awesome and a great scrap. My brother and I just dropped our website too, we’re super stoked on it and it’s super cool. We’re doig a bunch of our classes, techniques, and we’re gonna be doing vlogs and giveaways, all that type of stuff. Lots of live interaction and we’ve put a lot of work in there, and we’re still putting in a lot of work! There’s a lot of great content like breakdowns of matches and a lot of other cool things. If you wanna check it out then head over to ruotolobrothersjiujitsu.com. Other than that, thanks you guys for the support and thanks for tuning in to the fight! Good vibes, all the love, and have a good day!”
