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No.1-ranked featherweight MMA contender Garry Tonon was thrilled for the opportunity to represent the United States during his latest victory.
Gunning for his third-straight victory and a potential title opportunity, ‘The Lion Killer’ stepped inside the ring at ONE 165 in Tokyo for a high-stakes clash with former two-division ONE world champion Martin Nguyen. As expected, Tonon leaned on his BJJ skills early. Working ‘The Situ-Asian’ down to the canvas, Tonon immediately went to work hunting for the finish.
With 19 seconds to go in the opening round, Tonon managed to get a hold of Nguyen’s neck, forcing the ONE legend to tap out.
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Speaking with Sportskeeda MMA following his ninth career MMA win, Garry Tonon was proud to represent American jiu-jitsu in The Land of the Rising Sun.
“I love America and I love the U.S. To be able to represent my country is one of the things I thought about before I walked out. Part of my procedure for getting ready for this is to kind of walk myself through some gratitude and appreciation for what I have and what I'm doing to be a little bit more present because it's helpful.”
Despite the ‘nerve-wracking’ experience, Garry Tonon loved competing in Japan
Continuing, Garry Tonon admitted that competing on such a big stage halfway around the world was an admittedly nerve-wracking situation. But that didn’t stop him from finding an appreciation for the chance to visit Japan as a representative of his homeland.
“It's really nerve-wracking doing this but at the same time, it's like wow how awesome is this that I get to come out here I get to fly all the way to Japan such a cool place to visit, but at the same time I’m in a foreign place but via representation of my country in such an amazing way you know, through high level mixed martial arts,” Tonon added.
If you missed any of the action or want to relive an epic night in ONE Championship history, the ONE 165 replay can be watched on demand via watch.onefc.com.
