“It’ll be a cool comeback story” – Garry Tonon certain he’ll face Thanh Le again somewhere down the line

American featherweight MMA fighter Garry Tonon is looking to cross paths once again with Thanh Le, who dealt him one of his tougher losses in his career. He said it would make for a great comeback story to re-engage and redeem himself.

The two met in March 2022 when ‘The Lion Killer’ vied for the ONE featherweight MMA world title then held by the American-Vietnamese fighter. Unfortunately for him, he fell short in his push, knocked out in the opening round.

Despite the unceremonious exit he had in their first encounter, Tonon said he would not mind getting a crack at Thanh Le again.

The 32-year-old New Jersey native shared to the South China Morning Post in an interview:

“For dramatic purposes, I’d love to fight Thanh Le again. It makes for a nice tight-knit story. It’ll be a pretty cool comeback story to gain another title opportunity and face a guy you lost to the last time and be victorious. I would love that from a dramatic standpoint. I want to fight whoever has the title for sure.”

He added:

“Plus, if I win a title, there’s no question that Thanh Le will be in short order of fighting his way to another title shot. Any of the guys in the top 5 that I haven’t fought yet it’s just a matter of time before we’re going to see each other.”

Watch the interview below:

But before any rematch with Thanh Le happens, Garry Tonon must deal with fellow contender and former world champion Martin Nguyen first at ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru on January 28 in Japan.

Thanh Le, currently the interim ONE featherweight MMA world champion, for his part, is slated to go to battle at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1 in a unification title bout against reigning divisional king Tang Kai of China.

ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru will air live on Sunday, January 28, via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com, while ONE 166: Qatar is also available live on PPV on March 1.

Garry Tonon looks to make it three wins in a row at ONE 165

Garry Tonon looks to continue rolling when he steps back into the circle at ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru on January 28 in Tokyo, Japan.

‘The Lion Killer’ is out to get his third straight victory in a showdown with former two-division ONE world champion Martin Nguyen in the event marking the return of ONE Championship to the Land of the Rising Sun after nearly five years.

Tonon’s most recent victory came at the expense of Russian Shamil Gasanov, who he defeated by submission in the second round back in July. Prior to that, he also submitted American Johnny Nunez in the opening round in January 2023.

The back-to-back wins were a huge bounce-back from the two consecutive losses he had prior.

A win at ONE 165 could earn Garry Tonon, the top-ranked contender in the featherweight division, a world title shot again.