Garry Tonon says Shamil Gasanov wants to make a ‘bigger statement’ in MMA at his expense

Garry Tonon believes his ONE Fight Night 12 opponent, Shamil Gasanov, is trying to use him as a stepping stone.

‘The Lion Killer’ will attempt to fend off the dangerous Dagestani wrestling skills of Gasanov as the two men co-main event ONE Championship’s return to the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on Friday night. Gasanov enters the bout with an impressive 13-0 record, most coming against opponents on the unforgiving Russian regional scene. His lone win under the ONE banner came last year when he scored a first-round finish against former top-five featherweight contender Kim Jae Woong.

Speaking with the promotion, Tonon admitted to being impressed by Shamil Gasanov’s victory over Kim but believes ‘The Cobra’ is using him to make a statement inside the Mecca of Muay Thai:

“He's only fought, in my eyes, like one of the absolute best guys in the world in the weight division,” Tonon said. “But he did very, very well against that guy. So he's proven himself in MMA, and he's trying to make a bigger statement by having this matchup with me.”

Sitting in the No. 2 spot on ONE’s featherweight rankings, Garry Tonon is looking to get another crack at a ONE world title. ‘The Lion Killer’ believes taking Gasanov’s ‘0’ could land him an opportunity, but getting there will be much easier said than done against an opponent as formidable as ‘The Cobra’.

Will Garry Tonon bring a halt to Shamil Gasanov’s hype train or will ‘The Cobra’ score the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career?

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE Fight Night 12 live and for free in U.S. primetime on July 14.