ONE Championship submission grappling roster will have to be on alert. The organization announced it has added two elite grapplers to its global roster. Cole Abate and Dante Leon were revealed to be the latest signings by the promotion.
Abate is known as one of the best up-and-coming talents in the sport. Only 19 years old, Abate dominated the juvenile tournaments he competed in and showed himself well against other elite grapplers. The Art of Jiu-Jitsu representative earned his black belt in 2023 and is ready to take on the toughest slate of submission artists on the global stage.
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In 2021, Abate earned himself a spot in the ADCC World Championships at just 16 years old. He has already notched wins over top talents throughout his young career, including IBJJF World Champion Estevan Martinez. As he continues to mature, Abate will be a constant threat in the submission grappling world.
Two-time IBJJF World Champion Leon will also join the promotion. The Canadian has already shown off his skills around the globe but now has a massive platform to shine. Leon won the IBJJF No-Gi World Championship in 2019 and 2022.
Leon has shown that his skills are not confined to his weight division. At the 2023 IBJJF Pan-American Championships, Leon won gold in the 155-pound and super-heavyweight divisions. In the finals of the super heavyweight tournament, he defeated Devhonte Johnson.
His ability to achieve high-level success across multiple divisions has shown that he is one of the best pound-for-pound talents today. However, in ONE, he will be put to the ultimate test. The stacked roster of talent will give him no easy outs, and he will have to earn every result against the best of the best.
