Dante Scott Leon (born May 6, 1995) is a Canadian

grappler Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a Grappling position, position or causing ...

and

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

(BJJ) black belt competitor. A multiple-time World and Pan No-Gi champion in the lower belts divisions, Leon is a two-time black belt IBJJF No-Gi World champion, two-time No-Gi Pan champion, American Nationals champion as well as an

ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, is an international submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). The inaugural tournament was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE in 1998. It has been held every two years ...

bronze medallist.

Early life

Leon was born on May 6, 1995, in Harrow, Essex County,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. He grew up playing

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

then was introduced to martial arts and boxing by his father when he was 6. Leon started

(BJJ) in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, from the age of 12. His first instructor was the late Dean Hersche. As a blue belt Leon won the IBJJF World Juvenile Championship twice (2012, 2013) the IBJJF Pans Championship and the IBJJF Pans Juvenile Championship. After being promoted to purple belt Leon won the 2015 IBJJF Pans No-Gi Championship under the

Gracie Humaitá Gracie Humaitá or Academia Gracie de Jiu-Jitsu is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy on Humaitá Street, in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, founded by Helio Gracie. The Academy offers classes in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. History The Academia Gracie wa ...

/Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu team. Leon then joined GFTeam under Abraham Marte and Vitor Oliveira. After getting his brown belt, he moved to

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

, to train full time. As a brown belt Leon won the World No-Gi Championship as well as Pan No-Gi. In 2017 he won silver at the IBJJF World Championship.

Black belt career

In June 2017, Leon was promoted to black belt by Júlio César Pereira and Oliveira, that same year Leon won the American No-Gi Nationals and the IBJJF Pans No-Gi. At the 2018 World No-Gi Championship, Leon won bronze after reaching the semifinals before losing to Hugo Marques. In 2019, he became black belt No-Gi World champion for the first time, after defeating Jaime Canuto 4x2 in the finals. Competing in the KASAI Elite Grappling Championships, Leon defeated Edwin Najmi via rear naked choke on April 6, 2019, during Kasai Pro 5. On February 1, 2020, at Kasai Pro 7, Leon defeated Renato Canuto via points. In 2021, Leon finished second of No-Gi World after losing to Marques by referee decision in the final. In October 2021, Leon announced he would be officially joining Pedigo Submission Fighting to compete under their banner. At the

2022 ADCC World Championship The 2022 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship was a two-day no-gi submission grappling event that took place on 17-18 September 2022 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. History The tournament was originally scheduled ...

, Leon defeated Magid Hage and Mateusz Szczecinski before losing to

Micael Galvão Micael Ferreira Galvão, commonly known as Mica Galvão, (born 8 October 2003) is a submission grappler, Luta Livre and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt competitor from the Brazilian state of Amazonas. A highly decorated athlete competing si ...

in the semi-finals. He won the bronze medal match by defeating PJ Barch. In 2022 Leon became No-Gi World champion for the second time after defeating Carlos Henrique 2 points 0 in the final. On February 26, 2023, Leon won the middleweight division and the absolute division at the IBJJF Tampa International Open. Leon was then booked to compete at

Who's Number One FloSports is an over-the-top subscription sports broadcaster and streaming service. The company is based in Austin, Texas, United States, and was founded in 2006. FloSports streams live sporting events to audiences around the world. History L ...

18: Meregali v Marinho on May 18, 2023, against Ruan Alvarenga. Leon won the match, submitting Alvarenga with a rear-naked choke. Leon competed in the IBJJF Indianapolis no gi Open on June 18, 2023 and won a gold medal in the medium-heavyweight division. Leon will compete against Ethan Crelinsten for the vacant WNO lightweight title at Who's Number One 19 on August 10, 2023. He won the match by submission and became the new WNO lightweight world champion.

Grappling competitive summary

Main Achievements as black belt: * IBJJF World No-Gi Champion (2019/2022) * IBJJF Pans No-Gi Champion (2019/2022) * Kasai 170 lbs Champion (2020) * IBJJF American Nationals No-Gi Champion (2017) * 2nd place IBJJF World No-Gi Championship (2021) * 3rd place IBJJF World No-Gi Championship (2018) * 3rd place IBJJF American Nationals No-Gi (2017) Main Achievements as coloured belt: * IBJJF World No-Gi Champion (2016 brown) * IBJJF Pans Champion (2013 blue, 2016 brown) * IBJJF Pans No-Gi Champion (2015 purple, 2016 brown) * UAEJJF USA National Pro (2016 brown) * 2nd place IBJJF World Championship (2017 brown) * 2nd place IBJJF Pans Championship (2013 blue) * 2nd place UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro (2016 brown) * 3rd place IBJJF Pans No-Gi Championship (2015 purple) Main Achievements (juvenile divisions): * IBJJF World Juvenile Champion (2012 blue) * IBJJF Pans Juvenile Champion (2012 blue) * 2nd place IBJJF World Juvenile Championship (2012 blue)

Instructor lineage

Lineage 1:

Kanō Jigorō was a Japanese educator, athlete, and the founder of Judo. Along with Ju-Jutsu, Judo was one of the first Japanese martial arts to gain widespread international recognition, and the first to become an official Olympic sport. Pedagogical inno ...

→

Mitsuyo Maeda ,Virgílio, pp. 22–25 a Brazilian naturalized as Otávio Maeda (),Virgílio, p. 9 was a Japanese ''judōka'' (judo practitioner) and prizefighter in no holds barred competitions, also being one of the first documented mixed martial artists of t ...

→ Luis França >

Oswaldo Fadda Oswaldo Baptista Fadda (August 1, 1920 – April 1, 2005) was a practitioner of jujutsu and developer of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, reaching the rank of "nono grau", a 9th degree red belt. In 2014, he was posthumously awarded the 10th degree ("décimo ...

→ Monir Salomão → Júlio César Pereira → Dante Leon Lineage 2:

→

Carlos Gracie Sr. Carlos Gracie (September 14, 1902October 7, 1994) was a Brazilian martial artist who is credited with being one of the primary developers of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Along with his younger brother Hélio Gracie and fellow students Luis França a ...

→

Helio Gracie Helio may refer to: * Helio AU-24 Stallion * Helio (wireless carrier), a defunct American wireless communications provider (2005–2010); originally a joint venture between SK Telecom and EarthLink, purchased by Virgin Mobile USA in 2008 * ...

→

Carlos Gracie Jr. Carlos "Carlinhos" Gracie Jr. is a Brazilian 8th-degree coral belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and instructor. A member of the Gracie family, he is the son of Carlos Gracie, and first cousin to the Machado family brothers. Caree ...

→ Adilson Lima → Vitor Oliveira → Dante Leon

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Dante 1995 births Living people Canadian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Canadian submission wrestlers People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Submission grapplers World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalists World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalists