Not only is Garry Tonon regarded as one of the most skilled Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners on the planet, but he is also regarded as one of the most astute.
The multiple-time BJJ world champion is a master at setting up traps, and he intends to do exactly that when he faces Shamil Gasanov at ONE Fight Night 12 this coming Friday at the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
If Tonon, the No. 2-ranked featherweight contender, is successful against Gasanov, the No. 5-ranked fighter, he will be able to re-enter the running for the world title.
Tonon claimed in an interview with ONE Championship that he has devised the ideal strategy to compete with Gasanov’s aggressive wrestling technique.
“The Lion Killer” was afterwards added. Gasanov will not have any other option except to take the fight to the ground, which is a terrain in which the BJJ legend possesses an overwhelming advantage.
Tonon said:
Therefore, he will be more cautious in the sense that whenever I get a hold of something, he will make every effort to free himself from it and avoid putting himself in risk to the greatest extent possible. However, he is still going to attempt to wrestle with me. He has been doing that his entire professional life. There is no way that you can change anything stylistically like that which you have been doing throughout your entire career.
He added:
“You’re not going to step out in front of me out of the blue and all of a sudden be like, oh yeah, ‘I’m just not going to grapple this guy,’ am I right? It doesn’t matter what happens; I’m just going to stand here and throw hands or kicks or anything. That is to say, he is going to continue to interact. When it comes to situations in which he is frightened of being subjected, he just could be a little bit more flighty than other people.
In May of 2017, Tonon made his debut in ONE Championship with a submission grappling fight against Shinya Aoki, a legend of the Japanese martial arts scene. Since then, the American superstar has made the switch to mixed martial arts (MMA), where he has compiled an astounding record of 7-1.
In March of 2022, following a streak of six consecutive victories, Tonon challenged Thanh Le for the ONE featherweight world title. Thanh Le was the reigning world champion at the time. However, Tonon was unsuccessful in his attempt to win the gold.
Despite this, Tonon got back on track by defeating Johnny Nunez via submission in the opening round of their fight at ONE Fight Night 6.
All Prime Video customers in North America will have access to the live broadcast of ONE Fight Night 12 at no additional cost.
