Without a doubt, Garry Tonon is one of the world’s most decorated grapplers.
At just 26 years young, Tonon already has an IBJJF World Championship, a couple of IBJJF World No-Gi Champion, and four Eddie Bravo Invitational titles.
But mixed martial arts is a whole different animal.
Last March, the native of New Jersey, USA made his ONE Championship debut against Filipino fighter Richard Corminal. Surprisingly, Tonon was able to stop the fight with his hands, scoring a TKO win in the second round.
Come Friday, he is set to take on Indian fighter Rahul Raju (5-2) on Friday, July 27 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. And by the looks of things, Tonon is starting to get a feel of what the sport is all about.
“It’s a little more similar (this time around). It’s a different country, the travel, the organization, the people you’re working with, the grappling and the hands – all these things that have happened previously,” he reflected.
“It’s happening all over again. Everytime it happens, it’s just a little bit more comfortable and normal.
“My last fight, that’s my only real experience, not only in mixed martial arts but also any striking in general. It’s very foreign territory for me. So building confidence in my abilities it’s a big struggle, to say the least. That’s why we spar pretty much everyday,” he furthered. “This isn’t something that I’ve been doing for my entire life. Jiu-Jitsu has, and I’ve been in martial arts for a long, long time – for most of my life – but the striking is so new. I’m just trying to get the rounds in every single day. I pretty much spar everyday leading up to the fight.”
Tonon will be the first to admit that he is still experiencing birthing pains in his transition to be a more well-rounded martial artist. Knowing this, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt admitted that he might slap a submission attempt or two on his opponent come fight night.
“I think one thing that fans can expect from me this time is a little more confidence, more sense of direction,” the young upstart shared. “So now I can become a little more creative when it comes to the striking, instead of just using barebones basic, prerequisite skills that I was working on in the previous fight. But I’m still very green, I still have a lot to learn.
“I think you’re going to see some interesting strategy when it comes to striking for this fight. You may even see a submission, we’ll see. I’ve been toying around with the idea in my head. It’s always a possibility, especially if I feel like I’m going to be in danger. If you’re in danger, you’re under high stress, you’re always going to try and go back to what you know,” he added.
“We’ll see what happens there.”
