Sources: Kade Ruotolo Making MMA Debut at ONE 167

Ruotolo will make his MMA debut in June

Kade Ruotolo will make his MMA debut this spring, Sports Illustrated has learned.

His first-ever MMA bout will take place at ONE 167 on June 7 at Impact Arena in Bangkok. Ruotolo will compete in a lightweight bout against Blake Cooper, who is the younger brother of accomplished PFL fighter Ray Cooper.

There are few fighters in the world with as much potential as Ruotolo. Only 21, he could become the face of ONE Championship. Of course, that will require he wins–and does so in an exciting fashion.

Kade Ruotolo / ONE Championship

In the ONE 167 bout, Cooper will look to utilize his wrestling skills. Ruotolo will combat that with a combination of jiu jitsu and striking, and watching those two styles clash should be compelling.

Ruotolo is ONE’s reigning Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion, and he competes in a non-title bout against Francisco Lo tonight at ONE Fight Night 21 on Prime Video. His twin brother Tye is the reigning ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Championship, and he makes his first defense of the belt against Izaak Michell later tonight on the same card.