Dante Leon comments on BJJ’s aggressive nature: “We hurt each other with submissions”

Dante Leon knows just how dangerous BJJ is.

In just a few short hours, the multi-time IBJJF world champion will step back onto martial arts' biggest global stage determined to cash in on a golden opportunity.

Leon will challenge the reigning and defending ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion, Tye Ruotolo, this Friday night, May 2, when ONE Championship heads back to the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok for ONE Fight Night 31 on Prime Video.

Leon, who first discovered jiu-jitsu while watching MMA fights with his father, stressed just how dangerous BJJ is, even without all the punching and kicking that you get from more action-heavy sports like Muay Thai.

Speaking to Cageside Press ahead of his return to the ring, Leon said:

"Even though we're not punching, kicking—we hurt each other with submissions. We're trying to break bones and put people to sleep and slam people down on the ground, strangle people. We're trying to hurt each other. This is definitely a form of combat."

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Dante Leon and Tye Ruotolo's title tilt will be their third meeting on the mat

Through two appearances with promotion, Dante Leon has looked nothing short of spectacular, but at ONE Fight Night 31, he'll be tasked with doing what no man has done before—beat Tye Ruotolo in ONE Championship.

It'll be a tough task, but luckily for Leon, he's already defeated Ruotolo once.

The two BJJ sensations have met twice outside of ONE, the first time coming at Grapplefest 8 in 2020. There, Leon earned a referee's decision victory over Ruotolo.

However, Ruotolo evened the series a year later, defeating Leon via guillotine choke under the Who's Number One banner.

Leon said:

"Tye and I have quite a bit of history. The biggest reason for signing with ONE is to go against the best grapplers in the world, and I think Tye falls into that category."

Ruotolo and Leon fought each other twice before they started their ONE Championship careers, and the two old rivals have been staring at a 1-1 stalemate for almost four years heading into their trilogy.

Who comes out on top in the long-awaited rubber match? More importantly, who leaves the Mecca of Muay Thai with 26 pounds of submission grappling gold around their waist?

ONE Fight Night 31 will air live on Amazon Prime Video in the United States and Canada in U.S. primetime on Friday, May 2.