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Dante Leon wants to compete against the absolute best grapplers in the world. That's what attracted him to ONE Championship.
After taking home gold at some of the world's biggest Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments, Leon made his ONE debut late last year and immediately established himself as a superstar via a stunning two-minute submission victory over Bruno Pucci.
A month later, he stepped back onto martial arts' biggest global stage and delivered another dominant performance, this time against two-time ONE world title challenger Tommy Langaker.
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Now, the Canadian BJJ sensation will look to add 26 pounds of gold to his collection when he challenges reigning and defending ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion, Tye Ruotolo, at ONE Fight Night 31 on Prime Video.
Speaking with Cageside Press ahead of their highly anticipated title tilt inside the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Dante Leon revealed what drew him to ONE and what he hopes to accomplish with the promotion.
"This isn't like anywhere else in grappling right now," Leon said. "Exclusively, they have the best grapplers in the world, and especially at and around my weight class. That's why I came over here, and that's why I'm here now taking these matches."
Tye Ruotolo vs. Dante Leon will serve as a long-awaited rubber match between the two
Adding intrigue to their clash is the fact that Dante Leon actually holds a victory over Tye Ruotolo.
Leon earned a referee's decision victory against the Atos Jiu-Jitsu star in 2020 at Grapplefest 8. However, Ruotolo evened the series a year later, defeating Leon via a guillotine submission under the Who's Number One banner.
Now, the two will bring their rubber match to the Mecca of Muay Thai, where one of grappling's biggest prizes awaits the winner.
Will it be #AndNew or #AndStill this Friday night?
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.
