ONE Championship: Garry Tonon resumes MMA title quest after ‘depressing’ KO loss
- ‘The Lion Killer’ has not competed in MMA since he was knocked out by Thanh Le in a failed bid to capture the ONE featherweight title
- American BJJ specialist returns to action against Johnny Nunez on Saturday morning in Bangkok, and aims for Martin Nguyen next
Garry Tonon admits that his first MMA loss was difficult to accept. But after nearly a year away from the sport, the American grappling specialist is ready to get back on the horse and resume his quest for a ONE Championship world title.
Tonon, 31, got his first taste of defeat last March, in a fight with Vietnamese-American striker Thanh Le, who held ONE’s featherweight MMA championship at the time.
As a decorated Brazilian jiu jitsu champion, the challenger clearly had a significant grappling edge in the matchup, but he never had the chance to put his skills to use, as he was knocked out by the champion in less than a minute.
“I definitely could have done better,” Tonon told the Post at the Best Western Plus Wanda Grand Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand this week. “A KO loss specifically is even worse than getting submitted in my opinion, because it’s really damage getting done.
