Dante Leon vs Kenta Iwamoto: Redemption on the Line at ONE Fight Night 42

A welterweight submission grappling bout between Kenta Iwamoto and Dante Leon has been scheduled for One Fight Night 42, taking place at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on April 11 (local time). Canadian submission specialist Dante Leon previously faced Iwamoto at the 2023 AIGA Champions League, winning by submission. Iwamoto, making his ONE Championship debut, is hungry for revenge.

This bout is not only a rematch three years in the making but could also carry significant implications for the ONE Championship title picture. Dante challenged Tye Ruotolo for the welterweight title last May and lost a closely contested decision. Depending on the outcome and quality of this fight, Iwamoto could very well find himself next in line for a title shot.

Event Details

Date: April 11, 2026, starting at 8:00 AM (10:00 AM Japan time)
Venue: Lumpinee Stadium (Bangkok, Thailand)
How to watch: Streaming on the ONE Championship YouTube channel and other platforms

Who is Dante Leon?

Career highlights:

• IBJJF No-Gi World Championship gold (2019, 2022)
• December 2024: Submitted Bruno "Pucci Bull" Pucci via inverted triangle (ONE Fight Night 26)
• March 2025: Lost to Tye Ruotolo for the ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Title (ONE Fight Night 31)
• 2023: Submitted Kenta Iwamoto at the AIGA Champions League

What to Watch For

Dante Leon is arguably one of the best grapplers in the world at middleweight. His style is defined by technical precision and creative submissions across all positions, but he is especially dangerous with leg lock entries from bottom that chain into wrestle-ups and back takes.

Although he lost his title fight against Tye Ruotolo by a narrow margin, the match was essentially even, and had his late leg lock attempt come just a bit earlier, the outcome could have been different. In this bout, Dante is expected to put on a strong performance not only to set up a rematch with Ruotolo but also as a tune-up ahead of ADCC.

Iwamoto, on the other hand, was still an Asia-Oceania trials winner in 2023, just beginning to expand from the regional to the global stage. Since then, he has competed at CJI in 2024 and 2025, as well as European grappling events like Polaris in 2025, putting him several levels above where he was in their first meeting in both reputation and skill. The question is whether he can leverage the lessons from their first encounter and the experience he has gained since to come away with the win.

Their 2023 Match and Key Takeaways

The 2023 match can be viewed on Flo Grappling and is also available for free on Flo Grappling's Facebook page (the match starts around the 1-minute mark, after a highlight of Joseph and Isaac Michel).

Dante won the match in the third round via rear triangle from the back. Key points to watch heading into the rematch:

1. Iwamoto had the edge in wrestling exchanges. He won the second round by defending and securing takedown points. In the third round, Dante sat down early to avoid the wrestling.

2. While Iwamoto was unable to achieve a decisive guard pass against Dante, he did create offence with body lock pressure. Dante was active with sweeps and off-balancing from the bottom in the first round, but in the third round, he was nearly passed via body lock and found himself under pressure.

3. Rather than committing fully to leg locks, Dante's strongest pattern is using leg lock entries to chain into wrestle-ups, leading to back takes and sweeps. This may partly be a testament to Iwamoto's strong leg lock defence. The key question is how well Iwamoto can handle the wrestle-up transitions after defending the initial leg-lock entries.

Considering these three points, even if Dante pulls guard and sits, the match is unlikely to become a straightforward top-versus-bottom affair. Compared to other bouts, this one is expected to be more of a positional battle, with heavy emphasis on sweep-and-wrestle-up exchanges.