ONE Championship has added two of the planet’s best submission grapplers to its roster of elite ground fighters, as teenage phenom Cole Abate and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion Dante Leon have joined the world’s largest martial arts organization.
Both athletes represent the pinnacle of submission grappling.
Still just 19 years old, Abate has long been regarded as the sport’s brightest young talent.
After winning gold at practically every major tournament throughout his juvenile and colored belt career, the Art of Jiu-Jitsu product received his BJJ black belt from legendary competitor and coach Guilherme Mendes in July 2023.
Even though the Texas native has been a black belt for just over a year, he is certainly no stranger to the highest levels of BJJ and submission grappling competition.
In 2021, Abate employed his well-rounded, submission-oriented approach to win gold at the ADCC North American Trials and punched his ticket to the prestigious ADCC World Championships. At the time, he was only 16 years old.
What’s more, he boasts notable victories over world-class black belts such as Geo “Freakazoid” Martinez, IBJJF World Champion Estevan “Giant Slayer” Martinez, and fellow ADCC Trials winner Deandre Corbe.
A true master of technique and a prodigiously gifted athlete, Abate stands to make an instant impact on ONE’s global stage.
Joining him in ONE will be Leon.
With two IBJJF World Titles and three IBJJF Pan-American Championships to his name, the 29-year-old Canadian powerhouse has firmly established himself as one of the most respected grapplers on the circuit today.
A BJJ black belt since 2017, Leon has enjoyed an incredibly active – and successful – career thus far. In addition to his 2019 and 2022 gold medals at the IBJJF No-Gi World Championships, he is a multiple-time ADCC medalist who owns victories over a number of the sport’s most dangerous athletes.
Just as impressive, Leon has never been afraid to compete across multiple weight classes.
In 2023, shortly after adding a 155-pound title to his jam-packed trophy case, he won gold in the super-heavyweight division (215 pounds) at the IBJJF Pan-American Championships, where he beat World Champion Devhonte Johnson in the tournament finals.
Most recently, Leon defeated ADCC World Champions Mica Galvao and Giancarlo Bodoni to further cement his status as one of the greatest pound-for-pound grapplers in the game today.
Stay tuned to onefc.com for more news about Abate and Leon.
