Good for publishing: "He's gonna be a tough customer" - BJJ merchant Dante Leon expects to be tested to the fullest in Tye Ruotolo world title trilogy

Dante Leon is expecting a hard-fought trilogy match against rival Tye Ruotolo on May 2 for the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 31 in front of the packed Lumpinee Stadium crowd in Bangkok, Thailand, especially since this bout is for the ONE welterweight submission grappling world title.

The Canadian ground game technician stated this during his pre-fight interview with the world's largest martial arts organization:

"He's not gonna be easy in anything. He's gonna be a tough customer wherever we end up."

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This will be Ruotolo's second defense of his 26-pound golden belt, while Leon earned his shot for it by beating his first two opponents, Bruno Pucci in December 2024 at ONE Fight Night 26 and Tommy Langaker in January 2025 at ONE Fight Night 27.

Furthermore, Dante Leon and Ruotolo want to go ahead in their head-to-head score after splitting their first two encounters with a win each in 2020 and 2021.

Dante Leon reveals the tough challenge of preparing against Tye Ruotolo

The 29-year-old athlete who proudly represents the Pedigo Submission Fighting said that preparing against Ruotolo is a tough task, especially since he has that specific unorthodox style, which makes it difficult to emulate in training.

Dante Leon explained that the techniques that the 22-year-old phenom has in his arsenal don't make sense for a specific type of fighter, as he told ONE Championship during the same pre-fight interview:

"And then on top of it, he has D'arce and buggies. So it's something that's not - they don't really go hand in hand. Usually, you see people who would attack submissions like that, they're the not-so-athletic type."

North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can watch all the action at ONE Fight Night 31 on May 2, which will take place inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

About the author

Anatoly is an MMA writer with six years of experience. He covers ONE Championship at Sportskeeda, where he has contributed over 1000 pieces. He previously served as the lead MMA writer for BetMGM’s blog.

Anatoly holds a bachelor's degree in communication, which he feels has had a significant impact on his career.

Jon Jones’ submission win over Lyoto Machida at UFC 140 in 2011 got him hooked to MMA. His favorite fighters include Eduard Folayang, Demetrious Johnson, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Anatoly provides Sportskeeda with exclusive pieces and has previously interviewed the former ONE flyweight MMA world champion, Adriano Moraes. While writing his pieces, he follows an extensive research process, referring only to credible sources like the UFC’s official website, Sherdog, and ESPN. He also likes to provide insights to his readers by keeping in mind important pillars of communication like media literacy and audience dynamics.

Anatoly advocates for a healthy and fit lifestyle by including boxing in his routine. He also loves to travel.

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Edited by C. Naik