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BJJ legend and pioneer Eddie Bravo recently sounded off on ONE featherweight contender and submission grappling icon Garry Tonon. Bravo is one of the few who can be considered masters of modern jiu-jitsu. He pushed for innovation and heralded a new style of ground-fighting, aptly called "10th Planet Jiu Jitsu". He is a master innovator of the rubber guard and leg lock submissions, something Tonon himself made a name out of.
In an Instagram clip uploaded by fellow BJJ pioneer and former world champion Jeff Glover, Bravo was heard speaking to Joe Rogan about how he was in awe of Tonon's rampage at the 2013 ADCC world championship.
Here's the clip:
At the 2013 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship held in Beijing, China, Garry Tonon formally announced his arrival in the submission grappling world with a bang. First, in the quarterfinals match of the -77kg bracket, 'The Lion Killer' fought the legendary Kron Gracie in what many consider the greatest bout in ADCC history.
The relatively unknown Tonon faced a behemoth in the sport in Gracie, who had an air of invincibility upon him due to his legendary family name. Still, Tonon took the fight to the Gracie family descendant and nearly won the match. Gracie had to pull the rabbit out of the hat with a hail-mary rear-naked choke that ended the fight at literally seconds before the bell.
Next was 'The Lion Killer' entering the Absolutes open-weight category and came in as the smallest man in the brackets. In his first match, Garry Tonon faced future 17-time BJJ world champion and ONE heavyweight MMA standout Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida. 'Buchecha' just won the gold medal in the +99kg category and was primed to win the entire Absolutes division.
Once again, Tonon raised eyebrows when he took the fight to the much larger Almeida, who, despite his best efforts, couldn't submit 'The Lion Killer'. Despite losing the bout and ultimately not getting a medal in any category that night, Garry Tonon showed his grit and tenacity to the world -- something that helped him become an icon of the sport in the years that followed.
Garry Tonon was last seen in action at ONE Fight Night 12, tapping out submission specialist Shamil Gasanov with his signature knee bar. Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE Fight Night 12 on replay and for free.
