“You’re expected to be a genius” - Dante Leon on dealing with the pressure of competing at the highest level

29-year-old BJJ black belt and former two-time IBJJF No-Gi world champion Dante Leon of Canada says the pressure is on as he makes his debut in the world's largest martial arts organization this weekend.

But the submission grappling superstar says he's no stranger to pressure. In fact, he's been dealing with it all his life and knows exactly what to expect when he steps into the ONE Championship ring for the first time in a couple of days.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Leon talked about pressure and what it feels like at the highest level.

The 29-year-old said:

"You’re like an ostrich with his head in the sand. You don’t really see anything. You don’t know anything. You have very little life experience, especially with things as grand as this. You’re really just not somebody who has vast experience with these things, but you’re expected to be a genius when it comes to this."

Leon is set to make his ONE Championship debut this weekend to much fanfare. The BJJ black belt is hailed as a fantastic addition to the promotion's steadily growing roster of submission grappling talent.

Fans won't have to wait long to see the Canadian phenom in action.

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Dante Leon to face Bruno Pucci in ONE Championship debut at ONE Fight Night 26 on Prime Video

Canada's Dante Leon is set to make his highly anticipated debut in ONE Championship against MMA fighter Bruno Pucci of Brazil.

The two will fight at ONE Fight Night 26: Lee vs. Rasulov on Prime Video, which will broadcast live in U.S. primetime this Friday, December 6. The event will take place at the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action live and for free with an Amazon Prime Video subscription.