Martin Nguyen picks Shamil Gasanov to beat Garry Tonon at ONE Fight Night 12: “Shamil’s got this”

Former ONE featherweight world champion Martin Nguyen sees Shamil Gasanov beating Garry Tonon at ONE Fight Night 12.

Both ranked contenders enter the July 14 bill inside the renowned Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, in fine form, having left the stage with a win in their last outings.

No.5 ranked Gasanov toppled former top-ranked superstar Kim Jae Woong in his promotional bow last October, finishing the South Korean via a rear-naked choke in the opening stanza.

Meanwhile, Tonon, one of the best grappling-based fighters, returned to winning ways against Johnny Nunez in January, strengthening his spot as the No. 2 ranked man in the 155-pound division.

Martin Nguyen, however, thinks Tonon would be tested on the feet against Gasanov, and he sees the former losing out to the Russian’s strong stand-up game when they meet next week.

In an interview with South China Morning Post, he said:

“If it stays on the feet, which I assume it would because usually when you put two grapplers together, it ends up being a striking fight, then I think Shamil’s got this.”

Gasanov, still unbeaten in his seven-year journey, was scheduled to face Martin Ngyuen at ONE Fight Night 7 this past February. Unfortunately, he had to pull out of the contest due to health reasons.

However, a victory for the No.5-ranked Russian could see him move up and potentially go toe-to-toe against the former kingpin.

'The Situ-Asian' put pen to paper on a new ONE Championship deal earlier this week, and he’s targeted an October return against the winner of this featherweight tie at ONE Fight 12.

North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch all the action next Friday, July 14.