Dante Leon Targets Tommy Langaker After ‘Special’ Debut At ONE Fight Night 26
Dante Leon couldn’t have dreamed of a better promotional debut at ONE Fight Night 26: Lee vs. Rasulov on Prime Video.
Last Friday, December 6, in U.S. primetime, the Canadian powerhouse scored a dominant and quick submission victory over fellow BJJ black belt Bruno “Puccibull” Pucci in their lightweight submission grappling clash.
A two-time IBJJF No-Gi World Champion who has long been recognized as one of the sport’s pound-for-pound best, Leon controlled practically every second of the contest, taking his foe’s back before finding the triangle-armbar finish after a little over two minutes of action.
The bout took place in front of a packed house at the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and Leon told onefc.com that competing at such a historic venue was a surreal, once-in-a-lifetime experience:
“I’ve never been in an arena that has such impactful energy as this stadium does. It feels like the fans are on top of you, and not in a bad way.
“It just feels like that energy is shooting through your body while you’re competing, and it’s special, and it’s really unique.”
Leon’s phenomenal performance – a beautiful display of jiu-jitsu that he promised before the match – also earned him a US$50,000 bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
Afterward, the 29-year-old said that he aims to put on a bonus-worthy performance each and every time he competes:
“It’s hard to put into words how exciting that was. It was about two-and-a-half minutes out there of a performance, which I thought I had a great performance, but that’s a lifetime of work, and I did my best in two-and-a-half minutes to show my prowess and my technical ability.
“This time, I was able to showcase a great series, a great chain of attacks. And I’m really happy that Chatri and ONE decided to give me the bonus. My goal when I go out there is to strive to have that kind of performance – win, lose, or draw – that the company would feel honored to give me that bonus.”
All in all, Leon is ecstatic to have finally arrived in the world’s largest martial arts organization and be a part of ONE’s rapidly expanding submission grappling divisions.
He’s determined to prove that he’s the best grappler on the planet, and he believes that status can only be achieved in ONE:
“It’s plain and simple. If you consider yourself to be the best grappler, or you want to be the best grappler, or you’re striving to be the best grappler, this should be the place that you’re trying to come to. You shouldn’t be trying to go to other events where the best people aren’t.
“When it comes down to it, if you’re an athlete and you want to prove that you’re the best, you have to go where the best are. ONE is where the best martial artists are.”
Leon Says Langaker Would Be ‘Great Step Up In Competition’
After picking up a statement victory in his promotional debut at ONE Fight Night 26, Dante Leon is already thinking about what’s next.
Specifically, he has his sights set on former foe and two-time ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title challenger Tommy Langaker:
“Somebody who I think is a great match for my next match would be Tommy Langaker. He and I have a very short history, but a history that goes way, way back.”
Back in 2018, when both men were still relatively new BJJ black belts, Leon suffered a closely contested points loss to the Norwegian standout at the IBJJF Pan-American Championships.
Since then, both men have gone on to pack their respective trophy cases with titles and accolades from the sport’s most prestigious competitions.
Leon said he’d happily run it back with Langaker in what he believes would be a barnburner:
“I attacked him in the match and had several submission [attempts] in that match. So I think, given that we’ve both matured and grown as athletes, I’m very interested to see how that match would go.
“And I think that’s a great match, a great step up in competition, another great match to take for me, and I think it’s a great match for the fans here at ONE.”
