Garry Tonon: Shamil Gasanov wants to become a world champion to honor his mother: “I’m thinking about it every day”

Russian mixed martial arts star Shamil Gasanov’s world title quest is also to honor the promise he made to his mother.

‘The Cobra’ shared this in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post in the lead-up to his scheduled fight on July 14 at ONE Fight 12 on Prime Video in Bangkok.

The 27-year-old Peresvet Fight Team standout said the support that he has been getting from his mother and his family has been a major driving force for him to be a world champion in the multi-faceted sport of MMA.

Shamil Gasanov said:

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“I always wanted to be at the top, to be at the top for my mother and my family. I’m thinking about it every day.”

Check out the interview below:

The quest of Shamil Gasanov for a world title resumes at ONE Fight Night 12, where he will be going up against Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Garry Tonon of the United States in a featured featherweight MMA clash.

It will be his second appearance in ONE Championship after making a triumphant promotional debut last October with a first-round submission victory over South Korean star Kim Jae Woong.

He was supposed to return last February against former two-division ONE world champion Martin Nguyen but had to withdraw at the last minute because of injury.

Garry Tonon, meanwhile, was a first-round submission winner in his last fight in January over fellow American Johnny Nunez.

‘The Lion Killer’ is out to chalk up the victories to make another run at a world title shot.

ONE Fight NIght 12 is available for free to Prime Video subscribers in North America.

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Michael Murillo is a journalist who covers basketball and MMA at Sportskeeda with over two decades of experience. Michael has contributed as a proofreader, columnist and journalist for the Philippine broadsheet BusinessWorld.

A graduate of the University of the Philippines with a degree in English Studies, basketball caught Michael's imagination from an early age. Varsity basketball helped Michael to express himself, and later, it opened doors into the world of journalism.

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Edited by Taimoor Malik