Cade Ruotolo will be making his mixed martial arts debut on Friday, but he’s no stranger to fisticuffs, having grown up with his twin brother, Ty Ruotolo.
Ruotolo is scheduled to make his MMA debut against Blake Cooper (2-1) at ONE 167 in Bangkok on June 7. Having frequently competed in bare-knock bouts with his brother since he was a child, the elite jiu-jitsu practitioner says he has effortlessly mastered the striking side of MMA. As he prepares for his next bout, Ruotolo has already surprised many who expected him to compete as a pure jiu-jitsu practitioner, and he is poised to surprise even more.
“That’s a hard question to say exactly. When we were growing up, we weren’t at a very high level, but I went to a jiu-jitsu gym for about two years when I was about 13 years old. I also did Muay Thai for about two years, so I knew how to kick, how to punch, that sort of stuff,” Ruotolo said. “We weren’t full jiu-jitsu guys, but we knew how to strike. On top of that, me and my brother fought bare-handed almost every day.”
“We were tough and we knew how to throw a punch. So a lot of the coaches were surprised at how strong our fighting spirit was — not our knowledge, but our striking form. I think they expected us to go into the match as complete jiu-jitsu practitioners. We’ve surprised a lot of people so far, and we hope to surprise a lot of people again on June 7.”
Beyond the striking fundamentals, Ruotolo also benefits mentally from training with his brothers. Fierce competitors since the age of three, the Ruotolo brothers are used to long, rigorous jiu-jitsu sessions.
“I’m confident that I’ll never fight harder than the one I fought with my brother. I don’t think it’s possible. I don’t know if it’s humanly possible. My brother and I have done everything we’ve ever done in our lives. We fight with our hands. And when I say hand to hand, I basically just punch. Hit someone in the throat as hard as you can. It can go on for 30 minutes. Sometimes it goes on for an hour nonstop until one of us backs down. Backing down is not an option for us. Sometimes someone has to separate us, but we’re still there for the whole hour. I didn’t stop. I don’t think many people are prepared to go to that level of mental toughness.”
