Canadian Dante Leon has already turned heads — and twisted more than a few limbs — at the highest level of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Now the 29-year-old looks to make his mark in One Championship's submission grappling division.
Leon competes for the first time under the One banner Friday when he meets Brazilian Bruno (Puccibull) Pucci at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.
He's looking forward to seeing Thailand's storied combat sports home.
"There's been a lot of historic matches, a lot of historic moments, a lot of bloodshed in Lumpinee Stadium. So it's a special place," said Leon.
The main event sees Vancouver-born Christian (The Warrior) Lee, who now fights out of Singapore and the United States, defend his One lightweight MMA title against unbeaten Turk Alibeg Rasulov. The card also features Canadians Denis (The Bosnian Menace) Puric and Jonathan Di Bella.
Hamilton-based Puric takes on Algeria's Elias (The Sniper) Mahmoudi in flyweight Muay Thai action while Montreal's Di Bella, a, a former One strawweight kickboxing champion, faces Portugal's Rui Botelho in a strawweight kickboxing bout.
Submission grappling is enjoying a surge in popularity, led by the likes of American Gordon (King) Ryan and Australian Craig Jones.
The UFC showcases the sport via its Fight Night International series with newly signed Mikey Musumeci, a four-time world champion, making his debut in the promotion Thursday against Brazil's Felipe Machado on the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9 card in Las Vegas.
The 28-year-old from Marlboro, N.J., is a five-time International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) world champion and the first American to win more than one IBJJF title at the black belt level.
American twins Tye and Kade Ruotolo are the current One submission grappling champions, with Tye the 185-pound title-holder and Kade the 170-pound king.
One Championship submission grappling bouts consist of a single 10-minute round with victory achieved by a submission, verbal tapout, stoppage initiated by either the referee (due to imminent danger) or an athlete's cornerman stoppage.
The judges decide the outcome if it goes the distance.
Prior to joining One, Leon competed on the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 7 card on Oct. 11 in Las Vegas, defeating American Andy (Night Night) Varela by guillotine choke.
In August, Leon had a memorable showing in Las Vegas at the prestigious ADCC (Abu Dhabi Combat Club) Submission Fighting World Championship which he calls "a lot like the Olympics of our sport of submission grappling."
While he was upset by Elijah Dorsey in the opening round in his 77-kilogram weight class, the next day he won bronze in the absolute (open) division by defeating Mike Perez and 77-kilogram champion Mica Galvao and made the podium with a victory over 88-kilogram title-holder Giancarlo Bodoni after a semifinal loss to Kaynan Duarte, who went on to add the absolute title to his 99-kilogram crown.
"I believe I didn't show all of my game because I unfortunately lost in my weight class," said Leon, who normally walks around at 170 to 175 pounds (77.1 to 79.4 kilograms). "But I was able to rally back … and prove to me and the rest of the world that I can literally hang with anybody on the planet regardless of weight category, level of opposition."
"It really opens up a lot of opportunities for me with other matches, not just sticking to one weight class," he added. "I've always been somebody who's gone up and down multiple weight classes to look for kind of the toughest matches and toughest challenges."
A two-time IBJJF no-gi world champion and Grappling Insider's Male Grappler of the Year in 2023, Leon wants to add to his legacy.
"And (the) One (title) is one of those things missing off the trophy case," he said.
"I feel I have what it takes to be the champion but every time I have this conversation, I have to talk to myself because know I have a lot to do and I have a lot to prove before that, but it's always on the table." he added.
Born in Harrow in southwestern Ontario, Leon grew up playing hockey but switched to BJJ at 12 years old at the behest of his mother after learning he wanted to spend less time on the ice.
"She had her few suggestions," recalled Leon, who turned down golf and piano lessons. Then his father suggested jiu-jitsu.
"I took to it really well," he said.
Six months later, he quit hockey and focused all his attention on BJJ. His BJJ training eventually took him to Toledo, Ohio, where he now has his two gyms.
And despite all his success, there is more to learn.
"Every time I feel like I have something figured out in some capacity, I get a rude awakening that I really don't," he said. "So it's really special that after 17 years of training you can still have that feeling."
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2024.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press