"I had a great performance" - Dante Leon says quick submission win over Bruno Pucci a product of "a lifetime of work"

Dante Leon did what he had his mind set on doing this past Friday, Dec. 6, at ONE Fight Night 26 — to impress to the fullest in his ONE Championship debut. The Canadian powerhouse did not have an easy task to open his promotional account, though.

Up against fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and two-time IBJJF No-Gi world champion Bruno Pucci, the 29-year-old expected a war from the get-go.

However, his preparedness led to the exact opposite in their lightweight submission grappling tilt inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Leon needed only 121 seconds to lock in an armbar from a triangle choke that left the ONE veteran flattened on the canvas with zero options other than to tap.

Speaking on his win during a post-fight interview with ONE Championship, Dante Leon, also a two-time IBJJF No-Gi world champion, offered:

"It's hard to put into words how exciting that was. It was about two-and-a-half minutes out there of a performance, which I thought I had a great performance."

The Pedigo Submission Fighting athlete continued:

"But that's a lifetime of work, and I did my best in two-and-a-half minutes to show my prowess and my technical ability."

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Dante Leon reveals how he will spend his US$50,000 performance bonus from ONE Fight Night 26

Along with the highlight-reel moment, a US$50,000 performance bonus came in Dante Leon's direction.

While there are a million ways to spend the money on a fun night out, the Canadian BJJ specialist doesn't plan on blowing through the hefty sum.

Instead, the 29-year-old highlighted the importance of giving back to his gym, stressing that a portion of it will go a long way in helping himself and other like-minded upstarts at the gym where he trains.

In the same interview, he added:

"Usually, when I make some money, I give back to my gym and my team to help evaluate our training facilities and help evaluate our amenities for our competitors and our students. So, you know, I'm sure some of that money will go to that. As an athlete, I think it's important to invest in yourself."

ONE Fight Night 26 is available via replay to all active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America. Fans worldwide can relive the explosive fight card on watch.onefc.com.