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Two-time IBJJF No-Gi world champion Dante Leon has made his priorities crystal clear ahead of his world title showdown with Tye Ruotolo at ONE Fight Night 31: defeating his rival trumps everything else.
The Pedigo Submission Fighting member locks horns with the American grappling specialist in an attempt to steal his crown and become the ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Ahead of fight night on May 2, Cageside Press caught up with Leon to get his thoughts on this contest and what matters the most: beating Tye or tasting 26 pounds of gold on submission grappling's biggest platform.
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"The mindset is to beat Tye. That's really all it is — it's to beat Tye. Everything else is secondary," he shared.
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"Getting up two to one on the scoreboard, that's great. Getting the belt, incredible. I'm not taking anything away from that, but it's really about beating Tye," Leon added.
Watch Dante Leon's full interview with Cageside Press below:
Dante Leon heads into world title trilogy off a pair of impressive displays in ONE Championship
Dante Leon knows he will be up against a tough test, having split between victory and defeat in his past two outings against the ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion.
But he's been in remarkable form since inking a deal with the promotion, and he's fired up to move to 3-0 at the expense of his longtime rival.
The 29-year-old opened his promotional account with a slick triangle armbar finish of Bruno Pucci at ONE Fight Night 26 in December last year.
He returned slightly over a month later with an impressive 10-minute display against Norwegian standout Tommy Langaker.
Will he walk out of the Mecca of Muay Thai with gold wrapped around his waist?
North American fans can find out if he can do so by tuning in to ONE Fight Night 31, available for free with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
