ONE Fight Night 26: “I'm living in a dream” - Dante Leon excited for what the future holds in ONE Championship career

Canadian submission grappling star Dante Leon is still in shock following his impressive debut victory in the world's largest martial arts organization last weekend at ONE Fight Night 26 on Prime Video.

The BJJ black belt turned in a dominant performance, twisting MMA fighter Bruno Pucci into a human pretzel to win via arm triangle choke submission in their lightweight submission grappling match. Leon also took home a $50,000 performance bonus for his efforts.

Addressing the media at the official ONE Fight Night 26 post-event interviews backstage, Leon said he was on cloud nine.

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The Canadian star stated:

"It makes me feel like I'm living in a dream, basically. So it's cool that I get to do this, and I'm really excited about it."

Leon added:

"I just want to say thank you to everybody back home who supported me, watched, continues to support and everybody who helped me prepare for this. Everybody knows who they are. I don't want to waste another 10 minutes naming off every single person. So I appreciate everybody. Thank you."

ONE Fight Night 26: Lee vs. Rasulov on Prime Video was broadcast live from the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand last Saturday, Dec. 7. Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action via replay on-demand with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

Dante Leon describes what it was like to compete at Lumpinee Stadium: "Like that energy is shooting through your body"

The legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand is known for being the 'Mecca of Muay Thai'. But ONE Championship has made it a hub for all sorts of martial arts disciplines in recent years, from kickboxing to MMA, to Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Canadian grappler Dante Leon was the latest BJJ player to experience grappling in Lumpinee. Needless to say, he was absolutely astonished.

Leon told ONE:

"It just feels like that energy is shooting through your body while you’re competing, and it’s special, and it’s really unique."

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding Dante Leon's next fight.

About the author

Dan is an MMA writer with 10+ years of overall experience. Before his ongoing tenure at Sportskeeda, Dan got the opportunity to be at the forefront of the sport by contributing to ONE Championship and Fight Game Asia. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology.

Dan’s connection to MMA started during the early days of the UFC and ONE Championship. He previously practiced boxing and ranks Demetrious Johnson, Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, and Fedor Emelianenko as the top five MMA fighters of all time.

He has covered several events onsite and on the ground for ONE Championship and hopes to continue doing so. He ensures that he churns out accurate articles by citing only legitimate sources and getting firsthand accounts through exclusive interviews whenever required.

Dan feels MMA fighter pay seems like an issue because it often gets compared to what fighters earn in boxing but that MMA will eventually catch up in the future.

His other interests include soccer and video games.

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Edited by Anurag Mitra