“We got that finish” – Garry Tonon relieved he did not feel the wrath of Martin Nguyen’s punches after quick submission win 

Former ONE featherweight MMA world title challenger Garry Tonon knew the perils of facing Martin Nguyen and his nuclear fists.

As such, ‘The Lion Killer’ imposed his stifling grappling pedigree as early as possible against the former two-division ONE world champion when they crossed swords at ONE 165 in Tokyo, Japan over the weekend.

His game plan worked to perfection, as Tonon forced Nguyen to tap via a rear-naked choke in the dying seconds of the first round of their high-stakes encounter at Ariake Arena.

Post-fight, an elated Tonon collected a $50,000 performance bonus and broke down his fight-ending sequence to Mitch Chilson.

The decorated BJJ star admitted feeling relief that Nguyen was unable to get comfortable on the feet, saying:

“[When] I knew there was a minute left, I started throwing some kicks, opening up to the body, and we got that finish, man. I’m super excited that the only punch I took from Martin was while he was on his back, but then it f**king hurts!”

Garry Tonon cornered the Vietnamese-Australian near the ring ropes and had him on his back just thirty seconds into the match following a beautiful body-lock takedown.

It was only a matter of time before the American slithered his way to Nguyen’s back and kept him in place with an air-tight body triangle.

Tonon softened up the former champ with some ground and pound and even landed some nifty kicks to the ribs that helped him expose Nguyen’s neck.

That was all she wrote once the 32-year-old got under the chin and applied a frightening squeeze.

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Should Garry Tonon be next in line for the winner of Tang Kai-Thanh Le?

Following another impressive win, the no.1 ranked Garry Tonon kept his top spot in the featherweight MMA rankings and improved to 9-1 overall.

‘The Lion Killer’ has won his last three fights by way of scintillating submissions since absorbing the first defeat of his career against Thanh Le back in 2022.

Tonon has been on a rampage as of late, and he’s certainly in pole position for the victor of the upcoming ONE featherweight MMA world title unification bout between Tang Kai and Thanh Le at ONE 166: Qatar.

That stacked event will air live on March 1 via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.