Kade Ruotolo and Mica Galvao are two of the best grapplers in the world and fans have been waiting for a rematch between them for quite some time now. They are in the same generation and they’re both at the top of the sport, so most people would expect them to cross paths a few times over their career. That hasn’t happened yet though and in fact they’ve only met once, all the way back at ADCC 2022 when they were both still teenagers. The stakes couldn’t have been higher, as it was the final of the under 77kg division and whoever won would make history as the youngest ADCC world champion ever.
Ruotolo caught Galvao with a tight heel hook that forced him to tap, winning him the title and a place in the history books. Galvao returned at ADCC 2024 and managed to win the under 77kg division that time around, but Ruotolo was absent from the bracket. He was competing elsewhere on the same weekend, winning the under 80kg division at the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational. That was another huge moment for Ruotolo’s career, as he became one of the first two grapplers to win a million-dollar prize in competition. Meanwhile, Galvao’s ADCC title made him just the second person ever to win a super grand slam.
Many fans wanted to see a rematch almost immediately after their first meeting, because it was such a great battle and they are legitimately the best of their generation. Although several years have passed since then, the hype around the rematch hasn’t died down at all. Both men have only improved upon their legacy since ADCC 2022, with Galvao going 59-3 and Ruotolo going 11-1 in grappling and 3-0 in professional MMA. It would be one of the biggest matches in the sport right now and there’s no shortage of major promotions who would love to book it, especially now that things have been heating up between them again.
Kade Ruotolo actually highlights the comments that Mica Galvao made about a rematch in a recent story posted to his official Instagram account:
The next clip he was referencing was of Mica’s father, Melqui Galvao, talking about the idea of a rematch between the two competitors almost immediately after their first match:
“The boy made a move. We already asked for a rematch. We already asked for a match against Kade (Ruotolo). Let’s see if he accepts now. In the next Who’s Number One. But we are waiting. I don’t know if he will accept. He also has no obligation. If I were him I wouldn’t accept. But we already asked to do this match with him now. In November.“
Kade Ruotolo then shed some light on why the rematch between him and Mica Galvao never came to fruition in 2022, and reiterated that he’s still more than happy to book it in the future:
