ONE 167: Blake Cooper Not Afraid To Grapple With Kade Ruotolo

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There is a lot of hype surrounding ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion Kade Ruotolo's MMA debut. But his opponent Blake Cooper is refusing to get caught up in it.

Instead, Cooper looks to give the American dynamo a rude awakening when they meet for a lightweight MMA tilt at ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II on Saturday, 8 June, at Bangkok, Thailand's Impact Arena.

Ruotolo has dominated submission grappling in ONE Championship, winning all six of his outings. But as far as Cooper is concerned, it's a whole different ball game once you enter the all-encompassing sport of MMA - and the Hawaiian will be ready to welcome Ruotolo.

"I expect anything. If he wants to stand, we can stand. And when it comes to the ground, I believe I can hold my own on the mats," Cooper said.

"So wherever it takes us, this is an MMA fight, so it's a little bit different. But I'm expecting anything really, whether it be stand up or on the ground, just being ready for any type of scenario."

Admittedly, Cooper's debut at ONE Fight Night 14 last September didn't go his way against Maurice Abevi. He believes the first loss of his professional MMA career doesn't paint a true picture of the skill set he has acquired over a lifetime in the sport.

So, if Ruotolo is relying on the same man to show up from last September, Cooper feels the American star will be in for a shock. On the same token, the 27-year-old knows that a prolific showing over Ruotolo could be a star-making moment for himself in its own right.

"I feel like he's gonna try to push the pace on me because of my last fight, so I'm ready. I'm ready to match his pace, and we'll see who breaks first," Cooper said.

"I'm always trying to look for the finish. So whether it's on the ground or standing, [I'm] just trying to finish this fight and get in there and get out of there."