Cade Ruotolo is getting excited as he prepares for his long-awaited MMA move against Blake Cooper.
The current ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion will make his debut in the mixed sport in ONE 167 on Prime Video. It will be broadcast live on prime time in the US from Impact's Arena in Bangkok, Thailand on June 7th.
For the young American phenom, this move is a dream come true. Despite his talent on the mat, he has always harbored a curiosity and hunger to explore his MMA challenges.
Now, with the opportunity at hand, he is eager to prove himself against a formidable opponent like Cooper.
“I'm very fired up. It's been a while. I have a formidable opponent in front of me in Blake Cooper. The entire Cooper family are legends. [He has] Heavy hands and good wrestling. It’s going to be a great matchup,” Ruotolo said.
One of the main questions looming over Ruotolo's MMA debut is how he will fare in the impressive aspect of the bout.
Despite his reputation as a grappler, the 21-year-old is confident he can hold his own when the bell rings.
“I'm not Mike Tyson or Super Rec. I'm not there yet, but I'm getting better and better every day. The important thing is that I'm comfortable hitting. “I'm not really scared of punches, but that's usually the biggest barrier you have to overcome,” he said.
“My brother (Ty) and I grew up wasting our lives, so we don't have a lot of fear buttons when it comes to hitting. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but every day we have more success and more success. I am confident because I am learning.”
As he gears up for this litmus test, he's focused on blending all the right ingredients to emerge victorious.
“I'm not disrespecting anyone in any way. [Cooper] Has heavy hands and good wrestling. He's a scrapper. Everyone in Hawaii is a scrapper. He knows that for sure, so he’s very excited,” Ruotolo said.
