Grappling champion Kade Ruotolo will face former ONE titleholder Ok Rae Yoon in MMA on Dec. 18 in Bangkok, Thailand. The bout headlines ONE Fight Night 50, which will air in U.S. primetime. Ruotolo, 23, is undefeated in MMA since three tapouts in his first appearances, with four straight finishes in Asia, most recently a second-round knockout of Hiroyuki Tetsuka. Yoon, a 17-win veteran who captured the ONE title in 2021, is coming off decision losses to Alibeg Rasulov and Lucas Gabriel.
Grappling champion Kade Ruotolo will make his next MMA appearance against former ONE titleholder Ok Rae Yoon on Dec. 18 in Bangkok, Thailand, as first reported by MMA Fighting. The fight headlines ONE Fight Night 50, which is set to air in U.S. primetime.
Ruotolo is 23 years old and comes in with serious momentum. After three tapouts in his first appearances in MMA, he has put together four straight finishes in Asia. His most recent win was a second-round knockout of Hiroyuki Tetsuka, a notable result for a fighter whose reputation was built on grappling.
Yoon brings a different kind of experience. The veteran has 17 career wins and captured the ONE title in 2021. He arrives off back-to-back decision losses, to Alibeg Rasulov and Lucas Gabriel, and will look to snap that skid in a main event slot.
Why it matters
- Ruotolo's four-fight finishing streak is tested against a former champion who has competed at the top level of the promotion.
- Yoon has gone the distance and lost twice running, so a win over a rising name would shift his recent narrative.
- The matchup pits a grappling-first champion who has shown growing finishing power against a seasoned veteran who has spent years in championship-level fights.
The early part of Ruotolo's MMA run offers a clear contrast to where he stands now. Three submission losses to open his career would have derailed many fighters, yet he has answered with four finishes in a row, the latest coming by knockout rather than submission. That suggests his striking and cage skills have developed alongside his decorated grappling credentials.
For Yoon, the context is a pair of decision defeats that ended any momentum following his 2021 title win. The Dec. 18 card gives him a high-profile platform and a chance to test a younger, surging opponent in front of a primetime U.S. audience.
