Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Kade Ruotolo makes his MMA debut on June 7 when he faces Blake Cooper at the upcoming ONE 167 card from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
ONE Championship officials confirmed the matchup to MMA Fighting on Friday.
After first learning jiu-jitsu at just 3 years old alongside his twin brother Tye, Ruotolo made history in 2022 when he became the youngest competitor to ever capture a gold medal at the ADCC Submission Fighting world championships at age 19. A black belt under famed grappler Andre Galvao, Ruotolo won all four of his matches in that tournament by submission to capture gold in the 77kg category.
As part of the ONE roster, Ruotolo, who is now 21, became a four-time defending grappling champion, scoring wins over multi-time sambo world champion Uali Kurzhev, Matheus Gabriel, and then winning a pair of matches over Tommy Langaker.
Ruotolo declared plans to transition to MMA in early 2023, but now that date is finally set.
He joins a card headlined by reigning ONE atomweight champion Stamp Fairtex defending her belt against Denise Zamboanga.