Anatoly Malykhin expects an early finish for Shamil Gasanov against Garry Tonon

Reigning ONE light-heavyweight and heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin has a hot take on the upcoming battle between Shamil Gasanov and Garry Tonon at ONE Fight Night 12 this Friday. Happening at the co-main event spot of the card, this battle of submission experts will surely be a treat to fans of the ground game.

Malykhin, being a Russian national like Shamil Gasanov, unsurprisingly rooted for his countryman. His take on how the fight will go down, however, is undoubtedly up for debate:

"I think Shamil [Gasanov] will finish him before the end of round two."

Shamil Gasanov is an undefeated submission machine from Dagestan, Russia. He is one of the latest exports to come out of the now-famous mountainous region in the Eastern block. With nine out of his 13 victories coming by way of tap-out, it's not going to be a surprise if his game revolves around taking people down and strangling them unconscious.

His latest performance was a 2-minute strangulation of South Korean star Kim Jae Woong late last year. It was also the ONE Championship debut of 'The Cobra'.

As for Garry Tonon, well, not a lot can be said about 'The Lion Killer' when it comes to submission grappling that hasn't been said yet. Before transitioning into MMA and signing with ONE Championship in 2017, the American BJJ icon was in the forefront of competitive jiujitsu's introduction to the mainstream.

Tonon is a 5-time EBI world champion, IBJJF world champion, and Pan American champion. Together with his cohorts in the now-defunct Danaher Death Squad, Tonon helped revolutionize the use of leglocks in both submission grappling and MMA.

Once the Circle door closes, 'The Cobra' vs. 'The Lion Killer' will be the sleeper fight of the year, in our opinion. It's quite rare for specialists of one particular aspect of MMA go head-to-head in a bout.

This could go one of two ways. With their grappling backgrounds, it could turn into a pulse-pounding submission battle. On the other hand, however, the similarity in style could cancel each other out and we'll be treated to a Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots battle on the feet.

Shamil Gasanov vs. Garry Tonon at ONE Fight Night 12 goes down at the iconic Luminee Boxing Stadium and will air live and for free to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.