ONE 167: Submission Grappler Kade Ruotolo Reflects on Victory in MMA Debut

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After much anticipation, ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion Kade Ruotolo finally made his MMA debut at ONE 167 this past weekend, and the American's inaugural outing went down without a hitch.

The 21-year-old dominated Blake Cooper in their lightweight MMA tilt this past Saturday, 8 June, at Bangkok, Thailand's Impact Arena before submitting his compatriot at 3:20 of the first round.

The long-awaited debut couldn't have gone any better, and Ruotolo is already chomping at the bit to get back inside ONE Championship's famed Circle and take the next step in his MMA journey.

"I'm so urgent to get right back to the MMA realm, to be honest with you," Ruotolo said. "I had so much fun out there tonight. I honestly wanted to go back out and do it again."

It goes without saying that Ruotolo's submission grappling game is among the best in the world. The Atos product has already demonstrated that across six outings while having a stronghold on the ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Championship.

In the all-encompassing sport, though, critics and skeptics expected Ruotolo to falter in the striking realm. However, it was clear that Ruotolo refrained from resting on his laurels in preparation for his MMA debut, and ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong was taken aback by the American's fluidity.

"I was very surprised," Sityodtong said. "Most people who are World Champions and the very best in one discipline usually show a little bit of stiffness in the other discipline. But Kade looked very smooth."

On top of that, Ruotolo knew the detractors would be paying attention to his MMA debut. When you're riding as high as the 21-year-old phenom has been, there's always those watching on, hoping for a great fall.

But the American refused to give the haters any air time. A martial artist of his pedigree can only be a perfectionist. He's already seen areas to improve, and he's ready to get back on the mats and make his overall game much more invulnerable.

"I feel like [you are] your biggest critic most of the time. I've seen a lot of mistakes or [felt] like I made a lot of mistakes on the feet," he said. "But at the same time, I just got that nervous energy, that nervous debut, and I can't wait to go show people what I can do on the feet."

Before he can think about re-entering the MMA realm, Ruotolo will be back in action this September at ONE 168: Denver. There, he defends his ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Championship against flyweight king Mikey Musumeci in a grappling super-fight.