ONE’s lightweight king of submission grappling Kade Ruotolo has finally heard his callout answered: come June 9, he’ll be defending his world title against ADCC 2022 bracket-mate Tommy Langaker, per a ONE Championship social media announcement.
Ruotolo previously called out Langaker after defeating four-time sambo world champion Uali Kurzhev. According to Ruotolo, he and the Norwegian phenom playfully exchanged words at the ADCC afterparty last year, which left Kade feeling “fired up.”
It’s an intriguing matchup — and one that would arguably provide history’s youngest ADCC champ with his biggest challenge yet on the ONE Championship stage. Langaker, certainly no slouch himself, has also defeated Kurzhev by early submission at a ONE event. The Norwegian also took out the formidably acrobatic Renato Canuto in his ONE debut, which is no easy feat.
However, Langaker will likely have his work cut out for him in Kade Ruotolo, who’s looked virtually unstoppable since submitting his way through one of ADCC’s most competitive men’s divisions. Regardless of who comes out on top, this one’s looking to be a fight well worth watching.
