“We’ve both matured and grown” - Dante Leon recalls closely contested loss to Tommy Langaker in their first meeting

Dante Leon can't wait to run it back with two-time title challenger Tommy Langaker. Leon made his promotional debut at ONE Fight Night 26 earlier this month, scoring a quick two-minute submission victory over MMA standout Bruno Pucci.

Leon's victory immediately established him as a potential contender for the ONE lightweight submission grappling world title — held by reigning champion Kade Ruotolo — and also earned him a well-deserved $50,000 bonus.

Days removed from his dominant showing inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium, ONE Championship has announced that Leon will return to the iconic arena at ONE Fight Night 27 on Friday, Jan. 10 for a long-awaited rematch against Norwegian sensation Tommy Langaker.

Leon and Langaker previously met at the IBJJF Pan-American Championships in 2018 when both competitors were relatively new black belts. Leon came up short that night, falling to Langaker via points in a close-contested match.

Looking back on the bout during a recent interview with ONE, Leon said:

“I attacked him in the match and had several submission [attempts] in that match. So I think, given that we’ve both matured and grown as athletes, I’m very interested to see how that match would go.”

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Dante Leon looks to even the series against Tommy Langaker at ONE 170

Since their meeting nearly seven years ago, Dante Leon and Tommy Langaker have established themselves as two of the best grapplers on the planet.

Leon topped the podium at the IBJJF World Championships in both 2019 and 2022 while Langaker took home IBJJF gold in 2023. He also came in first at the ADCC European Trials and the IBJJF European Open that same year.

ONE Championship fans have become familiar with Langaker in recent years, seeing him earn big wins against Renato Canuto and Uali Kurzhev before going toe-to-toe with Kade Ruotolo in back-to-back contests at ONE Fight Night 11 in 2023 and at ONE 165 the following year.

Will Dante Leon even the series with Langaker and go 2-0 on martial arts' biggest global stage, or will Langaker land another win over the Canadian-born BJJ star?

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