Garry Tonon says ability to overcome tough Shamil Gasanov ‘meant a lot’ to him

Garry Tonon knew he was going to have to dig deep for a victory at ONE Fight Night 12. True enough, he had to rely on his defensive and attacking grappling arsenal to walk away with a triumph.

‘The Lion Killer’ faced one of the trickiest tests of his promotional tenure in the form of Shamil Gasanov last Friday, July 14, inside the doors of the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

And although he wrapped up the featherweight MMA tie with a nasty kneebar in round two, there were moments in the opening frame where Gasanov nearly threatened to take out ‘The Lion Killer’ with heavy knees and a barrage of ground-and-pound attacks.

Not one who likes to simply run his way to victory, Garry Tonon believes his match last week showed the world that he can even rely on his heart and determination as opposed to just his grappling.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt told ONE Championship:

“So it meant a lot to me, you know. It speaks to my character, I think. And it proved that to myself if I didn't already know it.”

Now on a run of two successive victories after his failed attempt at the featherweight MMA world title against Thanh Le at ONE: Lights Out last year, the American contender is confident of his chances to get another shot at glory.

But with Le separating the No.2-ranked contender from the divisional king, Tang Kai, Garry Tonon might have to run it back against the former kingpin if he wants to become an MMA world champion.

ONE Fight Night 12 is available to watch via replay for North American fans on Amazon Prime Video.