Kade Ruotolo | 2021 FloGrappling Grappler of the Year

Kade Ruotolo made his most prominent mark on grappling this year on the WNO mats, where he amassed five victories: four submissions and an injury stoppage. He earned the WNO lightweight title at the WNO Championship, submitting two top-notch opponents.

He had an outstanding gold medal run at the North American ADCC Trials, to boot, racking up seven more victories including three submissions. He finished the year with a second-place performance at Worlds in the gi, losing the brown belt lightweight finals to his brother, Tye Ruotolo, and receiving his black belt from Andre Galvao the following week.

Ruotolo’s stardom this year didn’t come only from his wins or submission rate, but also from his style. He’s blended wrestling with unorthodox passing, displayed darces from everywhere, unleashed the buggy choke, and was in several of the most scramble-laden, fast paced matches of the year. He’s in two matches nominated for match of the year, and his buggy choke over Cole Franson is a submission of the year contender.

Ruotolo finished the year with a 17-2 record and a 59% submission rate.