“A beautiful place with beautiful people” - Canadian BJJ ace Dante Leon says he’s grown fond of Thailand’s rich culture

BJJ sensation Dante Leon has fallen in love with Thailand. In just two appearances under the ONE Championship banner, the two-time IBJJF world champion has already established himself as the next big thing in ONE's bustling submission grappling division.

Following his latest win over Norwegian standout Tommy Langaker at ONE Fight Night 27, Leon had nothing but great things to say about the event's host city, Bangkok, and the things he's quickly grown to appreciate about the heart of Southeast Asia. He stated:

"The cool thing about ONE being in the morning, is we get the whole night to a party, right? We're in Thailand. It's always fun out here. You can get into as much trouble as you want, or you can have the least amount of fun. I mean, it's just a beautiful place, honestly. Everybody's going to tell you about the crazy side of this city, but it's just a beautiful place with beautiful people."

Leon added:

"Everybody's so welcoming, everybody so friendly. The food is so good, the energy, the camaraderie around here. It's just very nice."

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Dante Leon ready to fight both Kade and Tye Ruotolo

In the span of 29 days, the two-time IBJJF world champion logged two dominant victories on martial arts' biggest global stage, the first coming at ONE Fight Night 26 in December against MMA standout Bruno Pucci. It only took Leon two minutes to submit 'Puccibull' and immediately establish himself as a formidable force in the division.

He quickly followed that up with an impressive showing against Langaker, moving himself to 2-0 in ONE and setting the stage for a potential showdown with either Kade or Tye Ruotolo — the reigning ONE lightweight and welterweight submission grappling world champions.

As for which one Leon would prefer to face in his first ONE world title opportunity, the Canadian grappling star believes it all comes down to availability.

"Like I said, it depends on who's available," Leon said. "It depends on where I'm at. There are a lot of moving parts, I think with that Kade and Tye both. I feel like Kade is all the way invested in MMA. He's had multiple fights. Tye's showing interest in wanting to do MMA fights as well. So it's tough to say. We'll have to see what their availability is like."

If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE Fight Night 27 replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.