After a successful debut in the all-encompassing sport, the American superstar will make his way back to MMA for his second bout when ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug takes over Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium on Saturday, November 9.
Ruotolo is set to meet Pakistan’s Ahmed Mujtaba in a lightweight affair, and he’ll be hoping to cement himself as a genuine star in a second discipline after successfully dominating ONE Championship’s submission grappling ranks over the last two years.
His first six battles in ONE were ground-based affairs, and he won them all while taking out notable opponents like Shinya Aoki and Tommy Langaker and amassing the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world title along the way.
The 21-year-old then decided to try his hand at MMA, and he made his debut against fellow American Blake Cooper at ONE 167 this past June.
Ruotolo scored an easy first-round submission win against his compatriot that evening, and he’ll be out to show the world it was no fluke against Mujtaba at ONE 169 next month.
However, “Wolverine” will know just how significant it would be for him to hand his decorated foe a loss, so he’ll likely have his teeth sharpened when they meet.
Mujtaba has been around the block in ONE Championship, having debuted in 2016, and he has created a reputation for being well-versed both on the ground and on the feet.
He has struggled to find success over his last two promotional outings, but there’s little doubt that he still has an abundance of fire left in him.
Mujtaba and Ruotolo will be seeking a decisive win at ONE 169 as they both look to up their stock in the stacked lightweight MMA division. It should make for an intriguing battle in Bangkok.
