Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Garry Tonon is more confident now of his striking and feels he can perform well if ever his fights go there.
‘The Lion Killer’ returns to action on July 14 at ONE Fight Night 12 on Prime Video. He takes on Russian Shamil Gasanov in a featherweight mixed martial arts showdown.
The contest is part of a nine-fight showcase happening at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok and is available for free to Prime Video subscribers in North America.
In the lead-up to the marquee fight, Garry Tonon said apart from his jiu-jitsu skills, his improved striking will come into play in his scheduled fight. The 31-year-old New Jersey native told ONE Championship in an interview:
“I feel like my standing game is very good and is at an elite level and I can hang with anybody for the most part.”
Garry Tonon padded his push for title shot consideration back in January, when he made short work of fellow American fighter Johnny Nunez by way of first-round submission through a kimura.
He vied for the ONE featherweight world title in March last year against then-champion Thanh Le but was foiled with a first-round knockout.
Shamil Gasanov, for his part, makes his second ONE appearance after winning in his promotional debut last October. ‘The Cobra’ was a first-round submission winner by way of rear-naked choke over Kim Jae Woong of South Korea in his first outing.
He was initially set to return in February this year against former two-division ONE world champion Martin Nguyen but had to withdraw days before fight night because of injury.
Now healthy, Shamil Gasanov looks to resume his campaign with the goal of competing for a world title down the line.
