He may have missed the vibes, but Dante Leon was glad to exchange the holiday celebration for his chance to push his ONE Championship tenure to a higher elevation.
Leon captured his second straight win in the promotion when he outclassed old foe Tommy Langaker in their 180-pound catchweight submission grappling match at ONE Fight Night 27 this past weekend at the historic Lumpinee Stadium.
In an interview with Nick Atkin, Leon said he regretted skipping on celebrating the Christmas holidays when he was deep in his training camp for ONE Fight Night 27.
Leon, though, was proud to secure another win even if it meant spending less time with his loved ones.
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"It's unfortunate that I had to miss some of the holiday celebrations, but in the end, it worked out, I think I solidified myself as the number one contender in this bracket, in this division, at 170 or 185," said Dante Leon.
The Canadian star made his ONE Championship debut at ONE Fight Night 26 when he submitted multi-time BJJ world champion Bruno Pucci with a triangle armbar in the December card.
More than a month after his debut, the two-time IBJJF No-Gi world champion secured a unanimous decision win over Langaker in the same arena where he started his ONE Championship tenure.
Leon now positioned himself at a prime opportunity to potentially challenge Kade Ruotolo for the ONE lightweight submission grappling world title.
Watch Leon's entire interview below:
Dante Leon says he's no underdog in potential world title matchup against either Ruotolo brother
Dante Leon is in a unique position where he could potentially challenge either Kade or Tye Ruotolo.
Kade is the reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion while Tye is the ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion.
In his post-fight interviews, Leon said he's not an underdog against either brother and he's confident of beating Kade for the 170-pound submission grappling throne:
"Do I have a chance of beating Kade? Yeah, for sure. I have a chance of beating Kade. In the public eye and for the fans of ONE. I'm sure I'll be an underdog, but in my opinion, and to those who know, I think I'm far from an underdog and be their match with either of the brothers."