Apr 20-28, 12:30 PM UTC
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May 4, 11:00 PM UTC
Fight to Win 252
May 9, TBD
WNO23: Meregali/Rocha Press Conference
May 10, 11:00 PM UTC
WNO23: Meregali vs Rocha
May 11, 10:00 PM UTC
Combat Sports Houston 3 vs 3 Team Duals
May 12, 12:00 AM UTC
Fight to Win 253
May 12, 3:00 AM UTC
ADCC Asian & Oceania Championship 2
May 18, TBD
ADCC Portland Open
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May 30-Jun 2, 4:30 PM UTC
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Jun 9, 9:00 PM UTC
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Jun 27-29, 4:30 PM UTC
American National IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Champ
Tezos WNO 19: Meregali vs Duarte Presented by Fat Tire

Dante Leon Is A Force In The Lightweight Division: What To Know About Him

Dante Leon Is A Force In The Lightweight Division: What To Know About Him

Dante Leon faces Ethan Crelinsten at Tezos WNO 19: Meregali vs. Duarte for the WNO lightweight championship in Austin, Texas at the Palmer Center.

Aug 9, 2023 by Joe Harrington
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Dante Leon has won two IBJJF No-Gi World Championships and has reached the semifinals at ADCC twice since 2019.

On Aug. 10, he'll will look for another jiu-jitsu accomplishment. 

Leon, from Ontario, Canada, will face fellow Canadian Ethan Crelinsten for the Tezos WNO Lightweight Championships at WNO 19. Leon, a former welterweight who has dropped a down to lightweight in recent months, is competing in his second WNO event of the year. 

Subscribe To FloGrappling To Watch Tezos WNO: Meregali vs. Duarte

Tezos WNO 19: Meregali vs Duarte Betting Lines: See Who's Favored

Could Dante vs Ethan Come Down To This Position? A Technical Breakdown

Leon beat Ruan Alvarenga via rear naked choke at Tezos WNO: Meregali vs. Marinho in May. A few months later, Nicholas Meregali remains atop of the WNO card and Leon is getting a shot at some history. When Kade Ruotolo moved up a weight class, the WNO lightweight title became vacant, opening the door for Leon and Crelinsten. 

The co-main events feature Nicholas Meregali and Kaynan Duarte in a heavyweight bout as well as WNO champion Ffion Davies in a title bout with Jasmine Rocha.  

WNO: Meregali vs. Duarte features a stacked card along with its event, Nicholas Meregali vs Kaynan Duarte in a heavyweight bout.

Meregali made quick work of Pedro Marinho in the last WNO event in May, but now faces Duarte, the 2022 ADCC World Champion in the -99kg division. Duarte won gold in the super-heavyweight division at the 2023 IBJJF European Championships.

Here's what to know about Leon. 

Dante Leon Was A Top 5 Welterweight in 2022

Leon fought a handful of matches in 2022 at the lightweight class, but he has made a name for himself as a welterweight. Leon was the No.4-ranked, 170-pound No-Gi Grappler according to FloGrappling in 2022. 

He won the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds title at lightweight in December of 2022, adding to his no-gi world title from 2019, which he won at middleweight.

Dante Leon's Submission Against Ruan Alvarenga Was One Of The Fastest At WNO

Nicky Ryan's 23-second submission of Tony Ramos remains the fastest in WNO history, but Leon's Rear Naked Choke was the 10th fastest choke submission at WNO. Here are the fastest choke submissions: 

  1. Luke Griffith, 0:01:27, RNC, Joe Dierkhising, 3/25/2022, Men's Heavyweight
  2. Kaynan Duarte, 0:02:28, RNC, Rodolfo Vieira, 12/11/2020, Men's Heavyweight
  3. Jacob Couch, 0:02:29, Guillotine, Bruno Matias, 11/11/2022, Men's 185
  4. Haisam Rida, 0:04:25, RNC, Elder Cruz, 3/25/2022, Men's 205
  5. Kade Ruotolo, 0:05:14, Buggy choke, Cole Franson, 6/18/2021, Catchweight (165)
  6. Nicholas Meregali, 0:05:15, Mounted Triangle, Pedro Marinho, 5/18/2023, Men's Heavyweight Gi
  7. Andrew Tackett, 0:05:57, RNC, Rene Sousa, 7/14/2022, Open Weight
  8. Elisabeth Clay, 0:06:04, Gogoplata, Maggie Grindatti, 7/31/2020, Women's Heavyweight
  9. Haisam Rida, 0:06:25, RNC/Cross Face, Orlando Sanchez, 9/26/2021, Men's Heavyweight
  10. Dante Leon, 0:06:40, Rear Naked Choke, Ruan Alvarenga, 5/18/2023, Men's 155


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What BJJ Belt Is Dante Leon

Leon is a black belt. He was given the belt by Julio Cesar Pereira and Vitor Oliveira. He represents Pedigo Submission Fighting. 

WNO: Meregali vs. Duarte Full Card

Main Card:

Undercard:

How To Watch WNO: Nicholas Meregali vs. Kanyan Durate On FloGrappling

Tezos WNO 19 is Aug. 10 in Austin, Texas at the Palmer Events Center. 

The main event of Nicholas Meregali vs. Kanan Durate is a no-gi match. The card also includes Felipe Pena, Nicky Ryan and more. Tezos WNO 19: Meregali vs. Duarte will stream on FloGrappling and the FloSports app. 

Replays of the matches will be available on both platforms. 

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