At just 21 years old, Cade Ruotolo has already accomplished more in competitive grappling than most athletes ever will, including winning the 2022 ADCC Championship.
Ruotolo will never forget his roots, but he's preparing to make his mixed martial arts debut on Friday at ONE 167. This was his plan all along: Despite all the accolades he's won in grappling (and more to come in the near future), Ruotolo always knew that his twin brother, Tai, would also eventually become a fighter.
“I knew from an early age that one day I'd lace up the gloves,” Ruotolo told MMA Fighting. “For me, it was kind of a bucket list thing. I always loved watching it, and I loved watching it as a kid. We'd go to my grandfather's house and he'd always have UFC fights and stuff broadcast.
“We were always into it, we were always watching jiu-jitsu and of course we were doing jiu-jitsu at the time. We always thought that one day, once we'd achieved pretty much everything we wanted to do in jiu-jitsu, we'd make that transition.”
Ruotolo admits that he didn't put much effort into MMA training until the last few years, having devoted so much time to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and competitive grappling over the years. He did a little Muay Thai training as a kid, but until recently was primarily focused on his grappling career.
With mixed martial arts already in his mind in the future, Ruotolo started to take small steps towards that goal by incorporating striking and wrestling into his training. What he didn't expect was that he would enjoy MMA as much as he enjoyed jiu-jitsu.
“I'm definitely obsessed with jiu-jitsu,” Ruotolo said. “I think the reason I love it is because I learn something new every day. It's not that I don't do jiu-jitsu, but there's so much to learn every day, so it's fresh. I feel like a kid again. I'm back at white belt and working my way up the ranks. I'm obsessed with jiu-jitsu. I love it more than jiu-jitsu, to be honest. I love striking.”
Ruotolo surrounded himself with the best trainers he could find, including legendary mixed martial arts coach Erik Paulson, to help him adapt his world-class grappling for use inside the cage.
Despite his experience competing in some of the biggest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions around the world, Ruotolo admits he quickly found Paulson to be a fountainhead of information.
“I was born in 2003, so it was like Erik Paulson,” Ruotolo said. “I was sitting there scratching my head, and he walks in and shows me three leg locks that I'd never known before, and then he starts using them in class all day, for the next week. I was so blown away. I thought I knew all the leg locks! He shows me three that I'd never even known.”
“That's when I realized this guy is a master of grappling, jiu-jitsu and wrestling. This is him.”
While Ruotolo enjoyed the training and preparation, he acknowledges that nothing came easy, which is why he believes so many top-level fighters say they want to try MMA but end up abandoning those plans before it ever happens.
“There's definitely a reason why a lot of guys say they're going to do MMA and then don't make it,” Ruotolo said. “It's a whole different game. It's a whole different sport.”
“You really have to give it your all – training, recovery, everything. It's a lot more intense than a jiu-jitsu competition or a jiu-jitsu camp.”
Ruotolo is hoping to show off all of his different moves in his MMA debut, but he also knows he has a weapon that's not exactly a secret, and he's also hoping to show his opponent something they've never seen before.
“I think a lot of people are surprised by my will to fight and my fighting spirit, instead of just going for takedowns and grappling,” Ruotolo said, “But I can say with all my humility that it's been a long time since we've seen the level of grappling that my brother and I have in the MMA world. Jiu-jitsu has evolved a lot in recent years and changed a lot. Wrestling is very important, leg locks, all of these things are important.”
“I don't know if the MMA world is ready for that. I'm looking forward to showing what I can do.”
While Ruotolo remains focused on his June bout, he is also set to return to grappling at the ADCC tournament in July, as well as an individual grappling bout against Mikey Musumeci when ONE Championship returns to the United States in September.
Ruotolo is scheduled to fight in his second MMA bout after that.
It may seem like an ambitious list of goals for a player just starting out, but Ruotolo doesn't want to waste any time, especially at the peak of his athletic career.
“I'm 21 years old and I want to take advantage of my youth,” Ruotolo said. “I definitely don't want to keep fighting until my late 30s. To be honest, I don't want to keep fighting until my late 20s. I'm just trying to get my work done now. The sooner the better, honestly.”
“I'm not here to just be a jiu-jitsu fighter or an MMA fighter. I want to be recognized as one of the greatest combat athletes of all time.”
