Dante Leon determined to get even with Tommy Langaker in long-awaited rematch  

Canadian submission specialist Dante Leon hasn’t forgotten his first encounter with ONE World Title challenger Tommy Langaker. The pair met seven years ago. And Leon believes the rematch has been a long time coming. 

The grappling superstars will battle in 180-pound catchweight submission grappling extravaganza at ONE Fight Night 27: Tang vs. Abdullaev, this Friday, January 10.   

Their first meeting came at the 2018 IBJJF Pan-American Championships. Leon lost to Langaker on points that day. But since then, Leon feels he’s evolved drastically. And he’s out to avenge that loss and show his superior skill set inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium. 

“Tommy and I have a little bit of history. We went against each other in 2018 in the gi. It was a very exciting match, a crazy match. It’s one of the matches that left me kind of wanting to do it again. I obviously wanna get a win back over him,” the 29-year-old said.  

“It’s always been a match, and it’s always been a case where it’s sat in my mind a little bit, and I’ve kinda wanted to have at least another chance to have some vindication for myself.”

Dante Leon searching for stoppage win over Tommy Langaker at ONE Fight Night 27

Dante Leon is out to do more than than just even the scores with Tommy Langaker at ONE Fight Night 27.  

The Canadian grappler wants to not only dispatch the Norwegian star. He wants to put distance between them. And Leon believes the best way to do so is to submit him within the 10-minute time limit. 

“My goal for this match is to beat Tommy and submit Tommy. That’s my goal for this match. I think it’s me putting an exclamation point on things and really making a statement if I submit Tommy. Tommy is not an easy guy to beat,” Leon said. 

“I wanna show that there’s a skill gap between Tommy and I. I wanna prove that to the public, and I wanna handle business, and I wanna finish the match.”