WATCH: BJJ legend Garry Tonon’s pulsating submission win over Dagestani wrestler Shamil Gasanov at ONE Fight Night 12

In July 2023, former ONE featherweight MMA world title challenger Garry Tonon put his status as the then-second-ranked featherweight MMA contender on the line when he faced fellow contender Shamil Gasanov in a grappling-heavy MMA match at ONE Fight Night 12 that went down inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The full fight replay was reposted by ONE Championship on their YouTube channel recently, and wrote the caption:

“Gear up for the return of American submission specialist Garry Tonon against former two-division ONE World Champion Martin Nguyen in a crucial featherweight MMA clash at ONE 165 on January 28 by reliving his gruesome kneebar finish of Russian sensation Shamil Gasanov in 2023!”

The BJJ savant opened up the match by immediately shooting for a takedown against his Dagestani opponent. However, he failed to secure a favorable position and found himself at the receiving end of several knee strikes to the head.

But less than a minute into the position, Tonon exploded, got up on his feet, and took Gasanov’s back to control the remainder of the opening round. Throughout this stretch, ‘The Lion Killer’ haunted submission maneuvers, but ‘The Cobra’ defended well.

At the start of the second round, the 32-year-old American who represents Evolve MMA and Team Renzo Gracie tried to mix things up when he fired multiple head kicks to the Peresvet Fight Team and Tiger Muay Thai-affiliated athlete.

But Gasanov wasn’t having it and took Tonon down with a double leg. But it was a blunder for him as the BJJ world champion transitioned his way into a leg lock submission that ended the match at the 2:26 mark of the second round to award Tonon the victory.

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Gary Tonon faces former ONE featherweight MMA world champion Martin Nguyen in pivotal match at ONE 165

After collecting his ninth victory under the world’s largest martial arts organization, Tonon is now scheduled to meet the former ONE featherweight and lightweight MMA world champion and current third-ranked contender Martin Nguyen in a potential world title eliminator match on January 28 at ONE 165.

Tonon and Nguyen will vie for the opportunity to make another world title run as they battle it out inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. If ‘The Lion Killer’ gets the job done, he needs to closely watch the unification bout between reigning ONE featherweight MMA world champion Tang Kai and interim world champion Thanh Le at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1 at Lusail Sports Arena, as he’ll likely face the winner of that clash.

ONE 165 is available on pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.