Dante Leon says pondering about previous match against Tommy Langaker “could be detrimental” to their ONE Fight Night 27 bout

Canadian BJJ standout Dante Leon said he has moved on from his loss to Tommy Langaker seven years ago and underscored that their scheduled rematch this week is a whole new ball game.

The 29-year-old Pedigo Submission Fighting standout took on Norway's Langaker in the 2018 Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship and lost by decision in their middleweight showdown.

In an interview with Jits Magazine ahead of his reengagement with Langaker at ONE Fight Night 27 on Jan. 10, Dante Leon shared that a whole lot has changed since they last fought and that there's no sense on focusing too much on what happened then.

He said:

"So, yeah, I'm sure we both changed quite a bit. I'm sure any preconceived things I have going into the match could be detrimental to me if I think that he's going to be as strong as he was before, he could be weaker, he could be stronger. These are all things that could play negative towards me if I make those assumptions."

Check out what he had to say below:

ONE Fight Night 27 will be the second outing for Dante Leon, following up on his impressive promotional debut in December. He forced veteran Bruno Pucci into submission by way of triangle armbar, a win that earned him a $50,000 performance bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

Langaker, for his part, returns after last being in action in January 2023. He suffered his second straight defeat to ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo for the title.

ONE Fight Night 27 will take place at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and air live and for free at U.S. primetime to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

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Dante Leon expects a tough challenge from Tommy Langaker

While he did not bother much pondering over his previous defeat to Tommy Langaker ahead of their rematch at ONE Fight Night 27 on Jan. 10, Dante Leon, however, has taken note of the competitiveness that his upcoming foe showcased last time around.

It is something he is looking to handle better when they run it back, telling Jits Magazine in the same interview:

"I have a big challenge on my hands with Tommy. So that's to be addressed for sure. Tommy is a guy who's [a] number one contender for a long time at ONE.

"He really did push Kade [Ruotolo] in the first match. He really pushed Kade in the second match. He's competitive as well."

The Langaker-Leon match is the lone submission grappling bout featured at ONE Fight Night 27.