“The mightiest of all mice” - Garry Tonon trains with Demetrious Johnson on the mats

In a recent Instagram post, Garry Tonon shared a photo of him getting in some work with ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson. Fellow John Danaher student Juan Ayala is also in the photo making for a trio of grappling wizards.

The five-time EBI champion put up the post with the caption:

“It's not everyday you get to train with the mightiest of all mice 💪🐀💪. Thanks for the training @mighty @juanjiujitsu @onechampionship”

Garry Tonon went 6-0 competing in MMA with ONE Championship before coming up short in March, challenging Thanh Le for the ONE featherweight world championship. His most recent outing in the Circle came just two months after his loss in a submission grappling match against Tye Ruotolo, which he lost via D’arce choke at ONE 157.

Demetrious Johnson recently avenged his one loss since joining the promotion when he defeated Adriano Moraes at ONE on Prime Video 1. After being stopped by a knee from Moraes in 2021, ‘Mighty Mouse’ delivered his own highlight reel knee in their rematch to win the flyweight world title.

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Is Garry Tonon the best MMA grappler in ONE Championship?

Submission grappling has been given a huge platform by ONE Championship and it’s not unreasonable to say that it all started with Garry Tonon. Recently crowning the promotion's first two submission grappling world champions, ‘The Lion Killer’ gave ONE Championship serious credibility when it came to the strength of their jiu-jitsu competitors.

Before transitioning into MMA in 2018, Tonon was an IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation) world champion, a two-time IBJJF no-gi world champion and a five-time EBI (Eddie Bravo Invitational) champion.

Being a part of ONE’s first-ever foray into submission grappling, Tonon faced Shinya Aoki at ONE: Dynasty of Heroes in May 2017. Submitting Aoki just over seven minutes into their contest, ‘The Lion Killer’ then turned his attention to MMA.

Building up a resume of 6-0 with three submissions and two TKOs, Tonon found himself in a world title fight with featherweight world champion Thanh Le in March this year. Whilst he tasted defeat in MMA for the first time, the impact that Garry Tonon has had in the promotion is clear to see.

Tonon returned to the Circle just two months after his loss to Le at ONE Championship: Lights Out for the aforementioned submission grappling match against Tye Ruotolo.

While he lost the match-up, it shows just how far submission grappling has come in ONE Championship as the new breed of stars in the sport like the Ruotolo brothers are now part of the ONE family.