Cade Ruotolo made his professional MMA debut at ONE 167 on June 7, 2024, shockingly defeating his opponent in the first round. It's been a long journey for Ruotolo, who has previously spoken about moving to MMA. That's why fans were naturally excited when ONE Championship announced that Ruotolo would finally make his debut against Blake Cooper. While it was expected that he would have a major advantage on the ground against whoever he faced, few would have anticipated just how impressive the ADCC World Champion would be on all fronts.
Ruotolo got up and looked very comfortable, showed good footwork and landed some hard kicks. As Cooper came forward, Ruotolo slowed him down in the clinch, but Cooper used his NAIA wrestling experience to land a double underhook. Ruotolo landed a few shots in the clinch, blocked a takedown attempt, and scored a hard head kick as he broke away. Ruotolo resumed striking and showed off his Muay Thai training, landing some knee strikes from a short double collar tie control.
Cade Ruotolo looked like a capable striker for the first few minutes of his professional MMA debut at ONE 167. That’s when he pressed forward, landing a double underhook against the cage and quickly moving to Cooper’s back and dragging him to the ground. From there, he landed a few punches and seconds later, Ruotolo landed both hooks before quickly switching to a body triangle for more control. Ruotolo simultaneously wrapped his left arm around Cooper’s neck and secured a rear-naked choke within a few more seconds, forcing the tap.
Cade Ruotolo improved to 1-0 with a first-round submission victory in his MMA debut, but he wasn't the only elite BJJ athlete to step into the ring at ONE 167. Shortly after he raised his hand, Mikey Musumeci came out and put on a grappling showdown against Gabriel Souza. Not only was it a fantastic spectacle for BJJ fans, it also perfectly set up both fighters for their upcoming bouts. Both Musumeci and Ruotolo will soon be back in action, meeting in a grappling match for Ruotolo's lightweight title at ONE 168.
ONE 167 Complete Results
Tawanchai PK Saenchai defeats Joe Nattawut by decision – Unanimous (5th round, 3:00)
PK Saenchai Retains His ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title
Rodtang Jitmuangnon defeats Dennis Pulich by decision – Unanimous (Round 3, 3:00)
Mikey Musumeci defeats Gabriel Souza via submission – Calf slicer (Round 1, 3:07)
Cade Ruotolo defeats Blake Cooper via submission – Rear Naked Choke (Round 1, 3:20)
Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong wins by decision over Masaaki Nojie Unanimous (Round 3, 3:00)
Dennis Zamboanga defeats Noel Grandjean by decision – Unanimous (Round 3, 5:00)
Adrian Lee defeats Antonio Mammarella by submission – Rear Naked Choke (Round 2, 1:56)
Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat defeats Yohan Ghazali by decision – Unanimous (Round 3, 3:00)
Victoria Souza defeats Itsuki Hirata via submission – Guillotine Choke (Round 1, 1:31)
Yohan Estupinan defeats Zafer Saik by decision – Unanimous (Round 3, 3:00)
A full replay of ONE 167, including Cade Ruotolo’s first-round win in his MMA debut, can be viewed on Amazon Prime or on the promotion’s official YouTube channel.
