“I didn't see a lot of opportunities” - Dante Leon reveals the moment he decided to fully focus on no-gi grappling 

BJJ sensation Dante Leon recently opened up on why he chose to focus on No Gi grappling.

While Leon is no stranger to Gi grappling, most of his accomplishments have come in No Gi, including first-place finishes at the 2019 and 2022 IBJJF world championships and a trio of gold medals at the Pan championship between 2017 and 2023.

Ahead of his return to martial arts' biggest global stage this Friday night at ONE Fight Night 27 on Prime Video, Leon offered some insight into his move exclusively to No Gi matchups. Leon told Jits Magazine:

"Honestly, since 2019 after ADCC, it was in 2019 ADCC, I started to get more super fights, we used to call them back then, but like matches and things like that, and all of it was No Gi. So going like match to match to stay busy. I pretty much just had to do multiple camps back to back no Gi."

He added:

"So then I just, pretty much just trained No Gi. I didn't see a lot of opportunities with that happening for me in the Gi. So just kind of put all my eggs into one basket, and just did No Gi from then on."

Leon made a massive statement in his ONE Championship debut last month against MMA standout Bruno Pucci. Next, he'll look to climb up the contender's ladder against one of the most accomplished BJJ practitioners in the game today.

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Dante Leon faces Norwegian BJJ star Tommy Langaker at ONE Fight Night 27

This Friday night, January 10, Dante Leon will help ONE Championship kick off the new year with a loaded ONE Fight Night 27 card inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

There, Leon will square off with 135-win veteran and two-time ONE lightweight submission grappling world title challenger Tommy Langaker.

Making his promotional debut nearly three years ago, Langaker scored impressive wins over Renato Canuto and Uali Kurzhev before going toe-to-toe with reigning ONE world champion Kade Ruotolo in back-to-back bouts.

Will Langaker climb back into the win column and bring Leon's momentum to a crashing halt, or will the Canadian-born 29-year-old score a second straight win and establish himself as a legitimate force in the lightweight grappling division?

Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE Fight Night 27 live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, January 10 in U.S. primetime.