Kade Ruotolo has out-grappled the best ground game wizards in the world. When it comes to fishing, however, he is willing to admit his twin brother, Tye, holds the upper hand.
The reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion has long shared a deep love for the ocean with his brother, a fellow ONE world champion, and the pair grew up in Southern California, where fishing rods were almost as readily available as jiu-jitsu mats.
While Kade Ruotolo has been sidelined recovering from an ACL injury, fishing has remained one of his most important escapes, and one of the few sources of healthy competition he still has with his sibling.
In an exclusive interview with ONE Championship, the lightweight submission grappling king was honest about how the rivalry has gone so far in the recent past.
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He conceded the bragging rights with characteristic humility.
“My brother caught a big yellowtail. For me, it’d probably be either a smaller grade yellowtail or a tuna,” Kade Ruotolo told ONE Championship.
The 23-year-old continued, “I still haven’t caught too big of a fish, like maybe close to 20 pounds is my biggest fish. But my brother has definitely caught one probably closer to 30 pounds.”
Away from the fishing scene and onto the global stage of martial arts, Kade has picked up one victory after another against the planet’s best martial artists.
The ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion has gone 9-0 in the promotion, 6-0 in submission grappling, and 3-0 in MMA.
Kade Ruotolo set for two battles in 2026 after injury setback
After being on the sidelines for more than a year, Kade Ruotolo will resume business in the promotion at The Inner Circle on May 15.
The American fighter takes on Hiroyuki Tetsuka in a lightweight MMA tilt in Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Just six weeks later, he will defend his lightweight submission grappling gold against Brazilian standout Fabricio Andrey at The Inner Circle on June 26.
Fight fans with a monthly subscription can catch all the action exclusively at live.onefc.com.
Edited by Saiyed Adeem Karim
