"He pushed Kade to the limit" - Dante Leon reminds everyone why Tommy Langaker should never be taken lightly

No other athlete in ONE Championship's submission grappling ranks understands how much of a threat Norwegian star Tommy Langaker truly is than 29-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) athlete Dante Leon.

Days before Leon attempts to get his long-awaited revenge against Langaker at ONE Fight Night 27 on Friday, Jan. 10, he talked up his foe's abilities in an interview with the Bangkok Post:

"Tommy's a really tough guy, maybe not the most active competitor. So some people might forget, because that's kind of what the public does - if you're not in the public's eye all the time, they'll forget about how good you actually are."

Leon continued:

"But Tommy's a world champ. Tommy's pushed for the title over here. He's pushed Kade to the limit two or three times. He has wins over several really good competitors."

Check out the full interview below:

Leon was referring to Langaker's June 2023 and January 2024 attempts to take the ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship from the reigning Kade Ruotolo.

Though he fell short on both occasions, the 30-year-old received immense praise from ONE fans for nearly dethroning Ruotolo.

Meanwhile, Leon lived up to the hype by submitting BJJ great Bruno Pucci with his unique submission hold when he debuted in December.

---

Dante Leon excited to get back inside the circle

Despite the short turnaround, Dante Leon is ecstatic to compete in a catchweight (180 pounds) submission grappling bout with Tommy Langaker — the man who ended his hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals in the 82kg division of the 2018 IBJJF Pan-American Championships.

In an interview with JitsCast, Leon said:

"I'm excited. I want to say thanks to ONE. I'm excited to get back so quickly. It feels like I was just there."

Check out the entire interview below:

ONE Fight Night 27 will air live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.