In the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 12, we saw a battle of grappling specialists as Garry Tonon locked horns with previously undefeated Russian submission specialist Shamil 'The Cobra' Gasanov. Once again, ‘The Lion Killer’ Garry Tonon proved why he is considered one of the masters of modern jiujitsu, scoring a nasty knee bar in the second round.
ONE Championship posted a video of the submission finish on Instagram:
"Garry Tonon 🇺🇸 hands Shamil Gasanov his first pro MMA loss with a nasty kneebar! 😬 @garrytonon"
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The bout immediately became a chess match on the ground. Garry Tonon came out of the gates trying to put pressure on Gasanov early but ‘The Cobra’ was able to gain top position as the two battled it out on the ground. 'The Cobra' found his way to a position where he could land knees on the ground, prompting Tonon to scramble out and back to his feet. Tonon then transitioned to Gasanov’s back and controlled him there for the remainder of the round.
Come the second round, Tonon surprisingly launched a striking barrage that prompted Gasanov to drag him to the ground. The Russian grappler maintained top control but wasn't able to mount any serious offense as Tonon merely found his way back up every time 'The Cobra' would attempt ground-and-pound.
With Gasanov clinching him from behind, Tonon sneakily dived down for one of his patented knee bars. 'The Cobra' confidently told the referee he was okay but was soon given a taste of reality when Tonon turned him over and cranked the submission hard. Gasanov gave out a chilling scream before tapping out.
With his second-straight submission victory in ONE Championship, Garry Tonon moves to 8-1 in both the promotion and his overall pro record. ‘The Lion Killer’ is also the recipient of a $50,000 performance bonus that night, having impressed ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong for his highlight-reel-worthy submission win.
Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE Fight Night 12 on replay and for free.