Garry Tonon says KO loss to Thanh Le gave him a “sense of urgency” not to develop tunnel vision with his submissions

Top-ranked featherweight MMA contender Garry Tonon has said his loss to Thanh Le a while back served as a wake-up call for him to be wiser in his attacks so as not to put himself in bad positions he would have a hard time getting out of.

‘The Lion Killer’ vied for the ONE featherweight world title in March 2022 against then-world champion Thanh Le. Unfortunately for him, his bid was abruptly cut when he was knocked out just 56 seconds into the match.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Tonon shared that his overzealousness to go for an early finish through submission in the fight backfired as it left him vulnerable to counters. He said:

“It gives hesitation under some circumstances. It definitely adds a certain gravity to being in certain situations in a fight. The next time I’m in a situation where I’m going to be in ashi garami, I’m going to have more sense of urgency to potentially get back up as opposed to just going for the finish. It would be hard to take that moment and not get something out of it.”

Watch the interview below:

It is this lesson that Garry Tonon wants to employ when he returns to action on Sunday, January 28, at ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. There, he will be up against former double ONE world champion Martin Nguyen in a battle of top contenders, with the winner possibly getting a world title shot next.

Meanwhile, Thanh Le, currently the interim ONE featherweight MMA world champion, is slated to go to battle at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1 in a unification title bout against reigning divisional king Tang Kai of China.

ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru will air live on Sunday, January 28, via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com, while ONE 166: Qatar is also available live on PPV on March 1.

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Garry Tonon gunning for third straight win at ONE 165 in Japan

Garry Tonon looks to make it three wins in a row in his scheduled fight this weekend in Tokyo, Japan.

Standing in his way is former featherweight king Martin Nguyen, who, like him, is out to chalk up a win in their showdown at the Ariake Arena on Sunday, January 28, to propel his push for a world title shot.

Garry Tonon’s most recent victory came over Russian Shamil Gasanov, whom he forced into submission in the second round of their clash back in July. Before that, he also submitted American Johnny Nunez in the opening round in January 2023.

The back-to-back wins were a bounce-back from the two consecutive losses he had prior.

For his part, Nguyen will be back in action since last competing in February 2023, where he defeated Leonardo Casotti of Brazil by unanimous decision.