Dante Leon has just been selected as the MVP of the AIGA Champions League Season 2, and has received a $5,000 bonus as a result. Leon was one of the key components that led to Team Modolfo winning the tournament and he was selected as their representative at 76kg right from the start of their campaign in 2023. Team Modolfo was made up of some of the best grapplers in the world and they were favorites to win the tournament in the beginning, but things were far from easy for them. Several top competitors ended up losing against less well-known opponents and there were plenty of close matches as well.
Neither of those applied to Leon though, as he was able to put on a flawless performance at every stage of the tournament. He was one of the key figures in Team Modolfo’s qualification from the quarter-final round, as he was able to win both of his matches by submission. That was even more impressive when considering that one of his opponents was three-time ADCC Trials winner Kenta Iwamoto. Leon didn’t slow down when it came time for the semi-final round either, as he won his only match by submission and helped Team Modolfo register a perfect 7-0 round.
The final round was a lot closer as Team Modolfo won 5-2 that time around, but again Leon put on a fantastic display. He faced the reigning IBJJF World Champion in his only match, and Johnatha Alves should have been a tough opponent for anyone. Dante Leon racked up yet another submission win to finish his run in the AIGA Champions League Season 2 with a perfect 4-0 record, earning MVP status. Given that there were ADCC and IBJJF world champions as both his teammates and opponents, registering the best performance out of any of them is very impressive.
AIGA announced the news that Dante Leon was awarded a $5,000 bonus for being selected as the MVP of the AIGA Champions League Season 2 in a recent post to their official Instagram account: