Dante Leon And Tommy Langaker Booked For Submission Grappling Match At Fight Night 27
A high-stakes lightweight submission grappling tilt between two of the sport’s most dynamic and talented athletes is officially heading to ONE Fight Night 27: Tang vs. Abdullaev on Prime Video.
On January 10 in U.S. primetime, decorated Canadian powerhouse Dante Leon will return for his second appearance in the world’s largest martial arts organization to face former two-time ONE World Title challenger Tommy Langaker at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
A two-time IBJJF No-Gi World Champion who has long been regarded as one of BJJ’s top pound-for-pound competitors, Leon will enter the match fresh off his sensational promotional debut at ONE Fight Night 26.
That night, he breezed through fellow BJJ black belt Bruno “Puccibull” Pucci, needing just over two minutes to secure a picture-perfect triangle-armbar finish.
Leon’s dominant victory earned him a US$50,000 performance bonus and confirmed what many grappling enthusiasts have known for years – he is one of the planet’s most dangerous ground fighters.
The 29-year-old is already knocking on the door of a crack at reigning ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion Kade Ruotolo, but he’ll first have to get past the ultra-skilled Langaker.
With IBJJF No-Gi European and World Titles on his resume, the Norwegian star is perhaps the best-ever European BJJ black belt.
He kicked off his ONE tenure with a pair of impressive victories – an electrifying decision win over Brazil’s Renato Canuto and then a spectacular heel-hook finish of Sambo World Champion Uali Kurzhev.
Those performances earned Langaker a shot at Ruotolo’s gold. While he would come up short in that contest, he gave the American megastar his toughest test yet, and the match earned 2023 Submission Grappling Fight of the Year honors.
The 30-year-old would rematch Ruotolo this past January at ONE 165 in Tokyo, suffering another closely contested decision loss to the pound-for-pound kingpin.
Stylistically, upcoming matchup between Leon and Langaker represents the pinnacle of submission grappling.
Leon is an immensely strong athlete and an accomplished veteran who might be the sport’s most well-rounded grappler. Langaker, meanwhile, is a relentlessly aggressive guard player and an elite back-taker who can find the submission at a moment’s notice.
Keep checking onefc.com for all the news and announcements about ONE Fight Night 27 on Prime Video on Friday, January 10.
