Garry Tonon says Shamil Gasanov had trouble with his striking: “He didn’t like it”

As expected, the high-stakes featherweight clash between high-level grapplers Garry Tonon and Shamil Gasanov ended on the ground. However, the American BJJ specialist believes it was his underrated striking that led to that epic finish.

'The Lion Killer’ broke down his sensational come-from-behind win shortly after taking away Gasanov’s undefeated record with a joint-twisting kneebar at ONE Fight Night 12.

Speaking during his post-event interview, Tonon reckoned that he caught ‘The Cobra’ by surprise with some push kicks to the body at the beginning of round 2.

As far as the 31-year-old is concerned, those strikes kept the Russian guessing and allowed him to successfully dive for his legs for the fight-ending submission.

He told the Singapore-based organization:

“He was really holding on to the glove heavy. And then second round actually came out. I could tell he didn't go didn't like the striking you know, I hit him with a couple hard kicks and he had a tough time with that.”

The 31-year-old submission specialist furthered:

“So, you know, that was a good sign. I was able to get him to get a little gun-shy when I did that. And then we got into some more grappling exchanges.”

Watch the full interview:

Before getting caught by that ferocious kneebar, it’s quite clear that Gasanov was winning that fight.

The Dagestani wrestler nearly got the finish in the opening salvo with brutal knees to Tonon’s exposed head.

Then again, no matter how grim things appeared to be, Tonon will always have an ace up his sleeve.

The second-ranked featherweight contender won’t wow you with one-punch knockout power, but he can end fights in an instant once he grabs a hold of a limb.

As we’ve seen against Gasanov, Tonon’s striking is also coming along nicely, making him a legitimate threat to anyone at 155 pounds.

ONE Fight Night 12 is available on replay for Prime Video members in the United States and Canada.