“It has saved my life a million times” - Garry Tonon says his BJJ-heavy style has kept him as healthy as possible in MMA career

Garry Tonon has a luxury very few in the sport of mixed martial arts enjoy.

The BJJ legend often leaves his fights with near-minimal damage, and that is due to his grappling-heavy style of fighting.

Tonon showed that aggressive yet careful style when he submitted former two-division MMA world champion Martin Nguyen in the first round at ONE 165 this past weekend in Tokyo.

In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Tonon recalled how important it was to implement his game plan and sustain as little punishment as possible.

Garry Tonon said:

“I am so thankful that the first martial art that I got into was Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and it has saved my life a million times, and it seems that it's still saving me to this day.”

Tonon is a five-time Eddie Bravo Invitational champion, and he used his tremendous BJJ experience to quickly transition into the multi-faceted world of MMA.

Spending his entire MMA career with ONE Championship, Tonon recorded nine wins and has an absurd 88.89 percent finish rate.

Of his eight finishes in the promotion, five have come by submission, including three straight against Johnny Nunez, Shamil Gasanov, and Nguyen.

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Garry Tonon says it’s inevitable for him to sit atop featherweight MMA division

Garry Tonon’s first-round submission win over Nguyen put him closer to another shot at the ONE featherweight MMA world title, a piece of ONE Championship gold he’d been hunting for a couple of years.

‘The Lion Killer’ once challenged for the strap when he took on then-world champion Thanh Le at ONE: Lights Out in March 2022. Tonon, however, failed in his bid and lost via first-round knockout.

Two years removed from his only MMA loss, Tonon is again within reach of taking a shot at the featherweight MMA throne.

In his in-ring interview with Mitch Chilson, Tonon said:

“Guys, you know it’s inevitable to have that belt tied around my waist. Let’s see what these guys do out there.”

Tonon, however, would have to wait for the unification match between ONE featherweight MMA world champion Tang Kai and Le, the interim world titleholder, sometime this year.