Canada is home to great fighters and martial artists like Rory Macdonald, Carlos Newton, and Georges St-Pierre. Over the past couple of years, Canada has been slowly climbing its way to the top of the international grappling world such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and No-Gi Grappling with the likes of Oliver Taza, Ethan Crelinsten, and Dante Leon. Dante recently signed a contract to compete in the ONE Championship grappling circuit, a piece of incredible news for grappling fans all over the world. Today, we will discuss the grappling evolution of the Canadian powerhouse, Dante Leon.
Dante Leon’s Background
Dante Leon was born on May 6, 1995, in Ontario, Canada. His father introduced him to martial arts at age 6, which was a big part of his childhood. Like many Canadians in the region, Dante grew up and enjoyed playing ice hockey as a kid until his early teens.
Dante’s first experience with martial arts was with boxing at the age of 6, and he was introduced to BJJ at 12. His first BJJ instructor was Dean Hersche, who got the young Dante hooked up in pursuing grappling after a year of training. Dante got his early colored belt promotions from white to purple under Gracie Humaita and Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu. Dante further required a more competitive training environment as he got more dedicated and committed to his grappling ambitions.
Because of this, with the help of some connections from his close friend Kelly Hymore, Dante was later introduced to Vitor Oliveira of the Grappling Fight Team (GF Team). After some time, with the help of his close friends Kelly and Gutemberg Pereira, they got to the United States in Toledo, Ohio, to train full-time under GFT Toledo. In this new set-up, Dante and Gutemberg won numerous significant titles in the international grappling circuit, particularly with the IBJJF and UAEJJF.
Their achievements as colored belts resulted in their promotion to black belts from Vitor Oliveira and Julio Cesar Pereira in June 2017. Dante then opened his club, Adamas Jiu-Jitsu, in Toledo after splitting with GFT. Dante currently represents Heath Pedigo of the Pedigo Submission Fighting team in Illinois to keep his competitive spirits very much alive.
Competitive Career
Dante Leon is the most accomplished Canadian grappler and is considered one of the most talented grappling athletes today. He earned this reputation by winning important titles in his colored belt run in the IBJJF circuit, which he was able to repeat in his black belt professional career, such as winning the IBJJF World and Pans No-Gi Championship.
Today, let’s dive into Dante’s career-defining moments and the years of remarkable achievements.
1) 2017 – No-Gi Pans Championship
After getting promoted in 2017, Dante won the American No-Gi Nationals and the IBJJF Pans No-Gi. The 2017 No-Gi Pans Championship was one of Dante’s first major achievements as a black belt right after promotion.
2) 2019 – IBJJF No-Gi World Championship & ADCC
In 2018, Dante got the bronze medal in the IBJJF No-Gi World Championship, which he was able to bounce back to a year later. In the 2019 No-Gi IBJJF Worlds finals, Dante faced his fellow teammate, Jaime Canuto. This was the first year he won the No-Gi Worlds as a black belt, which he was able to repeat three years later.
2019 was the first ADCC year for Dante. While he was not able to secure a medal after losing to Garry Tonon in the bronze medal match, it was a bountiful experience for him after beating Lucas Lepri and facing other grappling vets like Vagner Rocha.
3) 2020 – KASAI Pro 7, Grapplefest 8, & WNO 4
For 2018-2020, Dante has been actively competing in the KASAI Pro grappling circuit. He faced the likes of Craig Jones and Renato Canuto in 2018 and beat one of the known submission hunters in the game, Edwin Najmi, in 2019. After losing to Renato Canuto in 2019, Dante got his revenge, beating Canuto via points.
During this season, Dante also faced a young Tye Ruotolo at Grapplefest 2020, securing a victory. Later, he engaged in a grappling showdown with Kody Steele—both renowned for their dynamic and electrifying styles—and emerged victorious via referee decision.
4) 2022 – IBJJF No-Gi World Championship & ADCC
In 2021, Dante announced that he would officially join and compete under the Pedigo Submission Fighting team. Dante won the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds in 2022, becoming a world champion for the second time after beating Carlos Henrique in the finals.
Now competing for the second time in the ADCC, Dante succeeded by winning bronze in his weight class. In his first match in the ADCC, Dante beat Magid Hage via armbar. After falling short in a well-contested match in the semi-finals against another rising phenom, Mica Galvao, Dante has beaten PJ Barch for the bronze medal via armbar.
5) 2023 – IBJJF Pans Championship, AIGA Champions League & WNO 19
2023 was a busy year competitively for Dante. He won the middleweight and absolute division at the IBJJF Tampa International Open in February and the IBJJF Indianapolis Open in June, competing in the medium-heavyweight division. Competing in Who’s Number One (WNO), he beat Ruan Alvarenga and fellow Canadian Ethan Crelinsten on separate occasions.
Dante is one of the strongest pound-for-pound grapplers in the game. He is always up for challenges, even if it means grappling against bigger opponents in the absolutes division. While on a bit of vacation, he noticed Grappling Industries, a local grappling tournament, and discovered that Roberto Abreu had registered in the same competition. Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu is a multiple-time world champion and ADCC champion, and the two squared off in the absolute finals.
Bringing up more challenges, Dante entered the IBJJF No-Gi Pan Championship under the super-heavyweight division and won the gold medal.
AIGA is an international grappling competition that invites grapplers worldwide to form a team and compete under a banner. Dante was one of the competitors under team Modolfo of North America and was a key player for the team. He won the semi-final and the final match by submission to help the team win the tournament. From there, Dante was voted MVP of AIGA Season 2 and later won the “No-Gi Male Grappler of the Year” by the JitsMagazine BJJ Awards in 2023.
6) 2024 – ADCC & UFC Fight Pass Invitational
Dante was invited yet again to compete in the toughest submission grappling tournament in the world, the ADCC. Dante is one of the strongest grapplers in the game, and the well-known Westside Barbell team handled his strength and conditioning program.
In the 2024 ADCC, Dante made a run in the absolutes division, beating Michael Perez, avenging his previous ADCC loss against Mica Galvao, and beating New Wave Jiu-Jitsu’s Giancarlo Bodoni for the bronze medal.
Dante has a stoic approach and does not back from challenges, as he gets slapped by Andy Varela at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 8, which Andy got penalized by a point deduction. Dante immediately finished him via guillotine as Andy shot for a takedown.
Conclusion
Dante is one of the most exciting grapplers because his dynamic playstyle showcases the fatal combination of technique and strength. We are excited to see him compete in ONE Championship and look forward to how Dante’s new endeavor will level up the attraction of new grappling audiences in one of the biggest martial arts platforms in the world.
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