19-year-old jiu-jitsu phenoms, Kade and Tye Ruotolo return to action this weekend at the ONE Championship “de Ridder vs. Malykhin” event that will take place in the Mall Of Asia Arena, Manila, Philippines (December 2, 2022).
Making big bets in the worlds of grappling and muay Thai, ONE Championship – a promotion that is mostly known for its long-standing history in mixed martial arts – will feature one of jiu-jitsu’s most anticipated clashes of the year. A fight between 2x IBJJF World Champion (2019, 2021) Matheus Gabriel of team Checkmat and the current ADCC champion, Kade Ruotolo.
The highly rated Matheus Gabriel of Brazil is one of the best gi players of his generation but has also been very successful without the gi where he holds a No-Gi Pan American title (2021). Gabriel has only been submitted once as a black belt, a loss that dates back to 2018 (!), and is currently on a 7-match winning streak.
Matheus will be challenging the current champion, Kade Ruotolo, for the 70-kg belt (lightweight). American-made Ruotolo is one of the biggest stars in the sport, a status that has come not only from his achievements but also from his style of grappling, one that many call “scramble-jitsu” for his incessant movement and continuous attacks. Ruotolo is, currently, on a 17-match winning streak, a loss that dates back to a time when he was still an 18-year-old brown belt.
Alongside Matheus and Kade will be another jiu-jitsu ace, Tye Ruotolo. Much like his brother, Tye has been in excellent form this year, holding an identical style to that of Kade with relentless pressure, but in the weight class above. Tye will be facing Dagestani athlete Marat Gafurov, whom we know very little about as he is not a regular face on the international jiu-jitsu or grappling scene. Given his Dagestan roots, we imagine him to be a very technical and powerful grappler.
Date: Friday, December 2
Main card: 10 p.m. ET / 3 a.m. GMT
How to Watch?
For fans in the United States and Canada, the card is available to stream on the subscription service Amazon Prime.
Fans outside of the above regions can watch the event on the official ONE Championship YouTube channel.
MAIN CARD
Reinier de Ridder vs. Anatoly Malykhin; light heavyweight MMA title
Kade Ruotolo vs. Matheus Gabriel; lightweight submission grappling title
Allycia Rodrigues vs. Janet Todd; atom weight Muay Thai title
Roberto Soldic vs. Murad Ramazanov; Welterweight
Dae Sung Park vs. Lowen Tynanes; Lightweight
PRELIMS
Eduard Folayang vs. Edson Marques; Lightweight
Jackie Buntan vs. Amber Kitchen; Women’s strawweight Muay Thai
Marat Gafurov vs. Tye Ruotolo; Catchweight (180lbs) submission grappling
Denice Zamboanga vs. Lin Heqin; Women’s atomweight
