BANGKOK — Canadian Dante Leon won his One Championship submission grappling debut in style Friday, making short work of Brazilian Bruno (Puccibull) Pucci on the undercard of "One Fight Night 26: Lee vs. Rasulov."
A two-time IBJJF no-gi world champion and Grappling Insider's Male Grappler of the Year in 2023, Leon earned a US$50,000 bonus for his performance.
Leon took Pucci's back early, looking got a choke. With Pucci caught in a body triangle, Leon trapped the Brazilian's arm behind his head and slickly transitioned to an armbar that forced Pucci to tap after two minutes one second.
"I end up having a nice chain of submissions," said the 29-year-old from Harrow, Ont., who is now based in Toledo, Ohio. "I had a shoulder lock at the first part, switched to a triangle and then switch to an armbar, So I kind of showed a lot there."
One Championship submission grappling bouts consist of a single 10-minute round with victory achieved by a submission, verbal tapout, stoppage initiated by either the referee (due to imminent danger) or an athlete's cornerman stoppage.
The judges decide the outcome if it goes the distance.
The main event at Lumpinee Stadium saw Vancouver-born Christian (The Warrior) Lee, who now fights out of Hawaii and Singapore, defend his One lightweight MMA title against unbeaten Turk Alibeg Rasulov. Lee also holds the promotion's welterweight title.
Also on the card, Algeria's Elias (The Sniper) Mahmoudi stopped a game Denis (The Bosnian Menace) Puric with two seconds remaining in a Muay Thai catchweight (138.75-pound) bout. Hamilton's Puric is ranked third among One Championship's flyweight (125-pound) Muay Thai contenders, while Mahmoudi is No. 5.
Montreal's Jonathan Di Bella won a unanimous decision over Portugal's Rui Botelho in a strawweight kickboxing bout.
Di Bella, a former One strawweight kickboxing champion, pushed the pace early, lashing Botelho with kicks and following up with punches. The Canadian was faster and busier.
Di Bella had Botelho on the run at the end of the second round and continue to dominate in the third. There was some bad blood at the end with Di Bella taunting the Brazilian after absorbing a late blow after the final round ended.
"He was talking a bit before the fight," Di Bella explained.
"I could have done a bit better, could have done a bit more activity," he added. "Some room for improvement."
Di Bella won a unanimous decision over China's (The Fighting Rooster) Peimian to claim the vacant One title in October 2022 in his debut in the promotion at One 162 in Kuala Lumpur. But he had to vacate the crown after falling ill the day of the weigh-in before his scheduled second title defence in April 2024.
Mahmoudi ended Friday's bout with a barrage of blows, to the head and body, at 2:58 of the third and final round.
At 26, Mahmoudi is 13 years younger than Puric and, at five foot 10, had a five-inch height and eight-inch reach advantage.
Mahmoudi looked to use that size and reach, fighting from distance and controlling the bout, with Puric darting in to land blows. The Canadian got his attention with several blows and buckled Mahmoudi as the first round ended.
Mahmoudi had more success in the second and third rounds, driving Puric back with punches, elbows and knees.
Under a barrage of blows, Puric went down with less than 25 seconds in the round. And he hit the canvas again when he was caught with an elbow to the back of the head, prompting a delay and visit by the ringside doctor.
The fight resumed with Mahmoudi embracing Puric to show the blow was accidental.
A kick floored Puric early in the third round, with the Canadian subsequently getting a warning from referee Olivier Coste for an infraction. The two slugged it out as the fight neared a close before Mahmoudi ended it in the corner.
Under the One Championship banner, Muay Thai bouts can be won by knockout via punch, kick, knee, elbow, or legal throw. In kickboxing bouts, a knockout victory can come by punch, kick, or knee.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2024.
The Canadian Press