“It will be sweet revenge” – Garry Tonon pulls for Thanh Le to beat Tang Kai at ONE 166 to setup epic rematch

Former ONE world title challenger and current first-ranked ONE Championship featherweight MMA contender ‘The Lion Killer’ Garry Tonon is fresh off a scintillating first-round submission victory over former two-division ONE world champion ‘The Situ-Asian’ Martin Nguyen last weekend.

Tonon met the former ONE featherweight and lightweight MMA world champion and current no.3-ranked contender at ONE 165. The American BJJ icon made quick work of the Vietnamese-Australian firecracker, taking his opponent down and swiftly securing the back to find the rear-naked choke.

‘The Lion Killer’ took home a hefty US $50,000 bonus for his efforts, and further cemented his spot in the rankings as the next in line for a crack at the coveted golden belt.

ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru was held at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, January 28th, and was broadcast live globally on pay-per-view via watch.onefc.com.

Immediately after his victory, Tonon shifted focus to what is likely next – an opportunity to claim the ONE featherweight MMA world title.

Reigning king Tang Kai and interim titleholder Thanh Le are ready to settle this dispute later this year. But Tonon is only pulling for one of them.

Speaking to veteran ONE Championship broadcast analyst Mitch ‘The Dragon’ Chilson in the ring after his impressive performance against Nguyen, Tonon revealed who he is picking to win.

‘The Lion Killer’ said:

“For dramatic interest, I’d hope Thanh Le wins it so that I can take it away from him. It will be sweet revenge.”

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Garry Tonon looks to run it back with Thanh Le after lone defeat on his MMA record

Only one man has been able to defeat Garry Tonon in MMA so far, and that was none other than the former undisputed ONE featherweight MMA world champion himself, Thanh Le.

Tonon met Thanh at ONE: Lights Out in March of 2022 when the 32-year-old American superstar got his first shot at ONE Championship gold.

Unfortunately, ‘The Lion Killer’ was knocked out less than a minute into the first round, when he went for an ill-advised ankle lock that gave Thanh the opening to land his hammer-like fists.