Athlete Bio: Kade and Tye Ruotolo

Kade and Tye Ruotolo are identical twin Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts and submission grappling world champions. They're also two of the most recognizable faces in ONE Championship's grappling division. Between them, they hold an ADCC gold, an IBJJF black belt World Championship, and ONE Championship's first-ever lightweight and welterweight grappling titles.

They both set records as the youngest champions in their sport. One became the youngest black belt World Champion in IBJJF history. The other became the youngest ADCC World Champion the sport has ever seen.

Before any of it, they were two toddlers in Maui who couldn't speak full sentences yet. They were already grappling with each other.

Their Origin

Their father was a fairly fresh blue belt himself. He had them wrestling and roughhousing at home before they could even speak. Growing up, he introduced them to jiu-jitsu, surfing, and skateboarding around the same age. He'd been a sponsored surfer himself, picked up by the brand Lost.

There's a strange family story here. Their mother visited a psychic before she even knew she was pregnant with twins. The psychic told her she'd have two sons, and that they'd grow up to be fighters.

The twins also had a brief brush with fame before becoming fighters. As toddlers, they appeared in a few episodes of a small heist-themed TV show and in a Metro PCS commercial.

They started BJJ at three years old, coached by Cleber Luciano. Within a couple of months, they were already competing. From there, they came up through Art of Jiu-Jitsu. Eventually, they changed gyms to Atos, training under Andre Galvão. He and the gym are most responsible for turning them into high-level athletes. They were jiu-jitsu's first child stars.

The Records

Tye placed 4th at ADCC in 2019 as a 16-year-old blue belt, the youngest semifinalist the event had ever seen. Getting there wasn't easy. After his Friday match, he found himself 10 pounds over on the scale. He put on two sauna suits and sweated it out in a steam room for an hour, cutting 5 pounds.

When the gym closed for the night, he took an Epsom salt bath at his hotel to shed the rest, going to bed around 3 AM and waking at 5:45 AM to make weight before his Sunday match. He made weight, reached the semifinal, and lost a close match after a near-miss darce attempt. He then lost again in the third-place match against Paulo Miyao. It was a fight full of violent knee bar exchanges. He later became the youngest black belt World Champion in IBJJF history.

Kade's record came a bit differently, but he got there too. At 16, he won the Combat Jiu-Jitsu World Championship at lightweight. He finished the final against PJ Barch with a first-ever viral "buggy choke." A few years later, he became the youngest ADCC World Champion ever. He won the 77kg division in 2022 at 19 by submitting Mica Galvão, no relation to their coach, Andre Galvão.

Their Takeover

Both twins signed with ONE Championship and blew right through their respective divisions. Kade won the promotion's inaugural lightweight grappling title. Tye won the inaugural welterweight grappling title. At one point, the twins held a combined 12-0 record in the organization.

Around that same time, Tye had a separate run at ADCC as an adult, this time in the absolute division. He submitted Pedro Marinho and beat Felipe Peña, tearing his knee in the process. He then lost a controversial decision to his own coach, Andre Galvão, in that same bracket.

In ONE, he also beat Reinier de Ridder in a striking-heavy match. He then went on to win the welterweight title outright. Both twins have credited ONE Championship founder Chatri Sityodtong with raising their profiles. They also credit him with directly funding the training facility that's now their dream gym.

Pivot to MMA

After success in jiu-jitsu, they moved to MMA. Unsurprisingly, they've kept winning. Kade is 4-0 with four finishes, including his first career knockout. Tye is 2-0, with submission wins over two undefeated opponents. It isn't a spur-of-the-moment idea for either of them.

Both have said they always wanted to fight, but knew jiu-jitsu needed to come first. Kade trained under coaches Tyler Wombles and Eric Paulson. Both twins are now chasing ONE MMA gold in 2026, all while still holding their grappling belts.

The Twin Wavelength

At ONE Fight Night 21, the twins won on the same card with the identical submission. It's a choke so unique that fans now call it the Ruotolotine. Each earned a fifty-thousand-dollar bonus for it that night.

That kind of moment makes sense once you see how alike they are. Their training and mentality line up almost perfectly. Both have said there's no one else in the gym they can go as hard against. Anyone else might take that intensity personally. Between the two of them, it's simply understood. Their relationship goes beyond training partners, too. Each one doubles as the other's coach.

Each has coached the other at major events, including ADCC. Both rely on their brother's advice. It's some of the most valuable input either of them gets. Nobody knows a person better than their own twin.

Why It Matters

Most prodigies burn out or plateau. The Ruotolo twins turned child stardom into world titles in two sports, and counting. They're 23 years old. The scariest part is they might still be early.

Two kids who were roughhousing at home before they could read. One twin became the youngest ADCC semifinalist ever, after a weight cut that nearly broke him. The other became the youngest ADCC World Champion ever, a few years later.

Together, they're 6-0 in mixed martial arts, and neither has given up a single grappling belt. Whatever's next, they'll probably do it on the same card.