“I can rip his head off and mail it back to the States” - Shamil Gasanov fires shots at Garry Tonon

Undefeated Russian juggernaut Shamil Gasanov made waves when he delivered a first-round submission of Kim Jae Woong at ONE on Prime Video 3. The win immediately pushed Gasanov into the No.5 spot in the featherweight rankings, extending his undefeated streak to 13-0 and earning himself a $50,000 bonus for his performance as well.

Perhaps what fans remember most is Gasanov’s words with Mitch Chilson following his memorable ONE Championship debut. In his post-fight interview, ‘The Cobra’ called out featherweight contender Garry ‘The Lion Killer’ Tonon. It didn’t take long for Tonon to respond to the callout on Twitter.

"@shamilcobra says I don't last 5 minutes with him. What do you think? Do I succumb to the mixed martial arts Russian🇷🇺 invasion? Or do I break off his leg, use it to fly our flag, and make Ronald Reagan and the American people proud 🇺🇸💪? @onechampionship."

Shamil Gasanov was quick to return fire at the proud American, threatening decapitation in the process.

“He is nothing more than an American trash talker,” Gasanov said in an interview with ONE Championship. “If he thinks he can break off my leg, I can rip his head off and mail it back to the States after the fight.”

Watch the highlight submission in Shamil Gasanov's ONE debut:

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Shamil Gasanov calls out featherweight champion Tang Kai following impressive ONE Championship debut

ONE Championship got a new contender at ONE on Prime Video 3 as Shamil Gasanov delivered a showstopping performance, immediately earning his way into the division’s top five rankings. Following the win, nobody was safe from being called out, including ONE’s reigning featherweight champion Tang Kai.

“Tang Kai, Garry Tonon, everybody. Everybody I smash anywhere! Just give me five minutes and I’ll smash everyone.”

Tang Kai extended his undefeated run inside the circle to 7-0 with a tough 25-minute war against former titleholder Thanh Le at ONE 160. The victory made Tang Kai the first male Chinese MMA world champion. While it’s far too early to suggest that Shamil Gasanov is the next man up for a world title opportunity, the Russian striker could certainly stake his claim with a win over No.2-ranked contender Garry Tonon.

A month prior to Gasanov’s epic debut, another budding Russian star, Ilya Freymanov, burst into the featherweight rankings with a first-round knockout of ONE Championship icon Martin ‘The Situ-Asian’ Nguyen.