“We’re ending the fight” – Submission specialist Garry Tonon not ruling out a TKO win over Martin Nguyen

Former ONE world title challenger and current first-ranked ONE Championship featherweight MMA contender ‘The Lion Killer’ Garry Tonon doesn’t see his next fight going the distance this weekend.

The 32-year-old BJJ icon is set to return at ONE 165 to face his toughest opponent yet.

Tonon will lock horns with no.3-ranked contender and former ONE featherweight and lightweight MMA world champion ‘The Situ-Asian’ Martin Nguyen at ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru, which broadcasts live from the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, this Sunday, January 28th.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post in a recent interview, Tonon shared his thoughts on the upcoming fight, particularly how it will end.

‘The Lion Killer’ said:

“I think there’s a good chance that [I’ll submit him], but I think there’s also a good chance that it will be a TKO win for me.”

But that’s not to say Tonon is underestimating Nguyen by any means. He was all praise for the Vietnamese-Australian star.

Tonon added:

“Martin’s a scrambling and scrappy guy. It’s not like he hasn’t fought against pure grapplers before and it was impossible for them to do anything. Guys took him down. He does a good job of defending and going back up. I anticipate this being tough. If the opportunity presents of ending the fight, we’re ending the fight. No question.”

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru live via global Pay-Per-View on watch.onefc.com. Please visit ONE Championship’s official website for more information on how you can watch the event from your location.

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Garry Tonon taking Martin Nguyen lightly?

They say that in combat sports, it’s never wise to overlook an opponent. But Garry Tonon has been talking about Thanh Le ahead of his dangerous matchup with Martin Nguyen.

Tonon also told the South China Morning Post:

“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.”

Recipe for disaster? We’ll find out soon enough.