The sport of mixed martial arts is coursing through the veins of Blake Cooper, who is preparing to welcome ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion Kade Ruotolo into his world at ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II on Prime Video.
The Hawaiian will tackle Ruotolo at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 7. The lightweight MMA contest will mark the submission grappling standout’s first foray into the sport.
ONE 167 on Prime Video is coming to you live in U.S. primetime on June 7, featuring a World Title showdown between Tawanchai and Jo Nattawut, the return of Rodtang, Kade Ruotolo’s highly anticipated MMA debut, Mikey Musumeci’s quest for revenge against Gabriel Sousa, and MORE 🤯… pic.twitter.com/um1j07UPUS
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) May 28, 2024
After growing up living the quintessential island life, Cooper’s martial arts education began in earnest at Warner Pacific University, where he won an NAIA National Championship in wrestling.
But before long, the pull of following in the footsteps of his relatives became stronger. “I guess I was a little bit more laid back. When we were kids, we used to just go outside, go to the beach.
We lived close to the beach when I was a little kid, so we’d be going to the beach a lot,” he said.
“Eventually, I knew I was gonna want to fight. I grew up around fighting. I watched my dad fight. All of my uncles fought, so I kind of grew up around the crowd of MMA. But I was really focused on wrestling, growing up into high school and through college, and then watching my brother compete more often.”
After going unbeaten as an amateur, the 27-year-old then went on to reel off a pair of wins as a
professional before making his ONE debut last year.
Blake Cooper comes from a family of fighters
Fighting is in Blake Cooper’s blood, and he plans to use that experience to his advantage against
lightweight submission grappling king Kade Ruotolo at ONE 167 on Prime Video.
Cooper’s father, Ray “Bradda” Cooper, is a Hawaiian MMA icon, while his brother, Ray Cooper III is a famous MMA World Champion.
ONE superstar Kade Ruotolo already dominates one sport and is primed to take mixed martial arts by storm next.#ONE167 | June 7 at 8 p.m. ET
🇺🇸🇨🇦 Watch Live on Prime
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🌍 Live TV broadcast in 190+ countries (check local listings) pic.twitter.com/Io3OKOjzVa— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) May 30, 2024
Despite his wrestling background, the youngest of the fighting family favors the striking style
synonymous with his relatives.
“When it came to training and work ethic, they were really some of the people I looked up to just because of how they were and their accomplishments. I’d say my dad and my older brother are the people I look up to be successful,” he said.
“I really liked [dad’s] style of stand-up, his boxing. And I mean, he’s self-taught, too. He learned from YouTube and other videos that they bought, and DVDs. So, he’s pretty much a self-taught fighter. His style is more sort of a boxing, wrestling style. He can wrestle when he wants, but his stand-up is where I feel like he’s the most dangerous.” He further continued.
“I’m just grateful that I have the family that can provide me with help. We all still live together, so it just shows it’s the system that we have, a system that works.”
Ruotolo, for his part, is one of the best grapplers on the planet, with six wins on his name under the ONE banner.
The 21-year-old phenom has held the ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title since its inception in 2022, but he has made no secret of his desire to test his mettle in MMA. And coming weekend, he will look to prove just that.
