Shamil Gasanov will not underestimate Garry Tonon: “Both of us are skilled grapplers”

Undefeated featherweight contender Shamil Gasanov will not make the mistake of overlooking his next opponent inside the circle, Garry Tonon.

Gasanov is currently scheduled for a co-main event clash with ‘The Lion Killer’ when ONE Championship heads back to the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on July 14 for ONE Fight Night 12 on Prime Video. With both men more than capable of holding their own on the ground, anything can happen when Gasanov and Tonon meet inside the Mecca of Muay Thai:

“Tonon should not be underestimated,” Gasanov told ONE Championship in a recent interview. “Both of us are skilled grapplers, and we pose a threat until the final second of the fight.”

Gasanov will enter ONE Fight Night 12 with a picture-perfect 13-0 record, his last win coming inside the Circle at ONE on Prime Video 3 last year. Making his promotional debut, ‘The Cobra’ scored an impressive first-round submission over Kim Jae Woong just past the two-minute mark of the opening round. That victory was enough to land him in the No. 5 spot on the featherweight rankings.

He’ll look to work his way even further up the rankings against Tonon, who sits in the No. 2 spot on the rankings.

After scoring six straight victories in mixed martial arts under the ONE Championship banner, ‘The Lion Killer’ was matched up with then-featherweight world champion Thanh Le in March 2022. Unfortunately for Tonon, things did not go his way, and he found himself dispatched in less than a minute into the contest.

Since then, Tonon has bounced back with a first-round submission over Johnny Nunez. ‘The Lion Killer’ hopes that a decisive win against Gasanov will earn him another opportunity to become a ONE world champion.

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.