Biography
Dante Leon is an accomplished Canadian grappler as well as a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a rank awarded by Vitor Oliveira and Júlio César Pereira of GF Team - an academy he represented on numerous occasions across the world. Leon is widely recognized as one of the most talented athletes of his generation, a reputation earned while competing in the lower belt divisions of BJJ when he earned titles at important tournaments in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) circuit, a level of success he was able to repeat as a professional competitor. Lineage 1: Luis França > Oswaldo Fadda > Monir Salomão > Júlio César Pereira > Dante Leon Lineage 2: C. Gracie > Helio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Jr > Adilson Lima > Vitor Oliveira > Dante Leon Dante Leon was born on May 6, 1995, in Harrow, a small town located in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. Like many Canadians in the Ontario region Dante grew up enjoying the benefits of ice hockey, a sport Leon played until his early teens. Martial arts/contact sports were also a big part of Dante's upbringing, thanks to his father who introduced him to the fighting game from the age of 6. Dante's first steps in combat-related activities came by way of boxing and other striking-based arts, being introduced to Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a 12-year-old. Dean Hersche (RIP) was Leon's first instructor, who within one year had the young Canadian hooked on grappling. Under the Gracie Humaitá/Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu banner, Leon went from white to purple belt. As He got more serious about his ambitions in the sport Dante required a stronger training environment, a goal that was met through a close friend (Kelly Hymore) who introduced Dante to Abraham Marte and later to Vitor Oliveira of GF Team. The same Kelly Hymore would later bring Dante, along with his good friend Gutemberg Pereira to Toledo, Ohio in the United States to train at his own gym (GFT Toledo) on a full-time basis. Under this new schedule, the pair (Leon and Pereira) conquered numerous important results on the international IBJJF and UAEJJF circuits. The stream of positive results would lead to their black belts, obtained in June 2017 from the hands of Vitor Oliveira and Master Júlio César Pereira. Dante would later split with GFT and open his club, Adamas Jiu-Jitsu in Toledo, while also working extensively with Heath Pedigo and his Pedigo Submission Fighting team in Mount Vernon, Ilinois. Great article, Dante! Your insights on the importance of training with different partners are so valuable. I've definitely struggled with this in my own training and it's been really helpful to hear your perspective. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );