Kade Ruotolo will meet Ok Rae Yoon at ONE Fight Night 50, set for 18 December in U.S. primetime from Bangkok, ONE Championship announced on 27 October. The promotion also added Maurice Abevi against Dzhabir Dzhabrailov to the same card.
Ruotolo meets a former lightweight champion
Ruotolo holds ONE's lightweight submission grappling title, but this booking concerns his MMA career. ONE Championship's 27 October announcement lists him at 4-0 in MMA and says every victory has come by finish. His latest win came against Hiroyuki Tetsuka: a right cross dropped Tetsuka before Ruotolo finished with elbows from mount. The promotion describes it as Ruotolo's first knockout.
Ok has already held the lightweight MMA belt. Ok defeated Christian Lee to win it and enters the newly booked contest after consecutive defeats, according to the promotion's announcement. The pairing therefore places Ruotolo's unbeaten MMA record opposite an athlete who has won this division's championship. It also gives Ok a scheduled opportunity to reverse his recent results without presenting the match as a title fight.
The other addition brings together Swiss welterweight Abevi and unbeaten Turkish fighter Dzhabrailov. Abevi has won his past three appearances, including finishes against Samat Mamedov and Blake Cooper. Dzhabrailov recovered from being dropped by Chase Mann in his most recent bout and won by an opening-round finish. Both will arrive with winning sequences; the bout itself remains scheduled rather than decided.
The card and lightweight title picture
SportsRivo checked ONE Championship's separate event card against its announcement. The card lists Ruotolo against Ok under lightweight MMA and Abevi against Dzhabrailov under welterweight MMA. Neither pairing is labelled a championship bout there. ONE Championship's event listing gives a 19 December local start in Bangkok; the announcement's 18 December date refers to U.S. primetime. The promotion discusses possible future title opportunities, but has not announced a title shot for either winner.
Christian Lee holds ONE's lightweight and welterweight MMA titles. ONE Championship's 28 September announcement schedules his lightweight defence against Tye Ruotolo for 6 November at Lumpinee Stadium. Tye is Kade's twin brother and holds a separate ONE submission grappling title. Lee's defence is scheduled before Kade's meeting with Ok, leaving the lightweight belt to be contested before Kade fights.
What the bookings change
- Ruotolo's next MMA opponent is a former ONE lightweight champion, giving his unbeaten run a test against an athlete with divisional title experience.
- Abevi's winning sequence and Dzhabrailov's unbeaten run now meet in one scheduled welterweight contest.
- Lee's confirmed title defence precedes the Bangkok card, so the lightweight belt is due to be contested before Ruotolo meets Ok.
Bangkok date now confirmed
ONE Championship schedules the bouts at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok for its final U.S. primetime event of the year, with Prime Video named in the announcement. The event card currently carries both MMA pairings, while results and any subsequent title decisions remain to be determined in competition.
Source: ONE Championship