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Dante Leon seeks to enter the realm of MMA once he's done with his duties in submission grappling.
The Canadian star is still in the prime of his BJJ career, and he's set for the biggest match of his life when he challenges Tye Ruotolo for the ONE welterweight submission grappling world championship in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 31.
Leon's world title tussle against Ruotolo goes down this Friday, US primetime at the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.
In an interview with Cageside Press, Leon admitted he's been watching MMA more frequently, and it eventually piqued his interest to consider taking the jump into the multi-faceted sport.
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Dante Leon said:
"I've definitely thought about it. At this point in my career, not really focused on doing it too much, even though I'm more of a fan of MMA now than ever."
Leon, though, still has his goals in front of him in submission grappling.
The 29-year-old captured two IBJJF No-Gi world titles before arriving in ONE Championship in late 2024.
He's since chalked up back-to-back victories in the promotion, taking down fellow BJJ world champions Bruno Pucci (submission) and Tommy Langaker (unanimous decision).
Leon now looks to capture a piece of ONE Championship gold in the biggest match of his career.
Ruotolo is a perfect 7-0 in his ONE Championship tenure and has four submission wins over Garry Tonon, Marat Gafurov, Dagi Arslanaliev, and Izaak Michell.
ONE Fight Night 31 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
Watch Leon's entire interview below:
Dante Leon grateful for ONE Championship's incredible push of submission grappling
Submission grappling has always been a niche sport, but Dante Leon sees the discipline slowly growing into the mainstream consciousness due to ONE Championship's steady push.
In the same interview with Cageside Press, Leon said the promotion always emphasizes an event's presentation and builds a live atmosphere that fans could easily fall into.
He said:
"ONE does a great job of balancing everything and making such a great event. It's like a spectacle every time you're there—the lights, the audience, the camera work, it's all incredible."
