Danielle Kelly backing fellow BJJ fighter Kade Ruotolo in ONE lightweight submission grappling world title match Notifications New User posted their first comment this is comment text Approve Reject & ban Delete Logout

Danielle Kelly backing fellow BJJ fighter Kade Ruotolo in ONE lightweight submission grappling world title match

Danielle Kelly (left) believes Kade Ruotolo will become ONE's second submission grappling world champion. Photo by ONE Championship American Brazilian jiu-jitsu star and ONE Championship atomweight Danielle Kelly will be keeping a close eye on the promotion's next blockbuster live event, which hits Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Friday (US primetime). That’s because her fellow ‘jiujiteiro’ will see action. Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom Kade Ruotolo is set to face multi-time judo and sambo world champion Uali Kurzhev of Russia at ONE on Prime Video 3, which broadcasts live via Prime Video from the Axiata Arena in the Malaysian capital on October 21. The bout will be for the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship. In an exclusive interview with , Danielle Kelly explained why she thinks Ruotolo has the advantage in this matchup: “I have Kade winning the title. I think he is more successful on whether the match goes to the ground or stays on the feet. I’m going to go with Kade winning by submission.” Kelly joined ONE Championship earlier this year, making her promotional debut at this past March, where she fought former ONE women’s atomweight world title challenger Mei Yamaguchi to a draw. The Silver Fox Brazilian jiu-jitsu representative is widely considered one of the most talented, young and up-and-coming female grapplers in the world. Meanwhile, Ruotolo made his ONE debut last May alongside twin brother Tye at ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot. The 19-year-old ATOS fighter decisioned Japanese legend Shinya Aoki. He then later competed at this year’s ADCC, where he won a gold medal in the 170-pound division and became the youngest to ever do so, while submitting all four of his opponents along the way. If Ruotolo can defeat Kurzhev this Friday night at , he will be able to add the ONE lightweight submission grappling world title to his trophy case.

Danielle Kelly is impressed with Kade Ruotolo s run so far

With what Kade Ruotolo has already accomplished this year, it’s certainly not hard to be, even if you’re Danielle Kelly. Kelly told ONE Championship in another interview: “It's a great big deal. He's putting jiu-jitsu and people his age on the map, it's pretty impressive. You know, I think it's a big deal because he's going into his match with his opponent and he should definitely take him seriously. I think he's on a roll. I've been watching him come up, he was losing and then he started to win, he went against my teammate, or old teammates, and won matches. It's really cool to see his development, coming up over the past year or two.” Both Kade Ruotolo and Danielle Kelly represent the next generation of Brazilian jiu-jitsu players in ONE Championship, and are leading the charge for the sport of submission grappling in the promotion. Poll : 0 votes Quick Links More from Sportskeeda Thank You! Show More Comments No thanks Delete Cancel Update Reply ❮ ❯ No thanks Delete Cancel Update Reply ❮ ❯ Be the first one to comment on this story More from Sportskeeda Fetching more content... 1 Logout No Results Found