Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon, 26, of New Jersey, United States has racked up a boatload of accomplishments as a celebrated grappler. Now, he is ready to take his talents to the ONE Championship cage to begin a mixed martial arts career.
Tonon’s journey as a professional MMA commences as he is slated to make his debut in ONE Championship, taking on Richard “The Notorious” Corminal, 36, of the Philippines. They will face each other at “ONE: Iron Will” at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand on March 24, 2018.
Born in New Jersey, Tonon had his grappling training at the Ocean County Jiu Jitsu Academy near his New Jersey home. He trained under the tutelage of Tom de Blass.
In September 2013, Tonon’s hard work on the mat finally paid off as deBlass and Almeida awarded him a black belt in BJJ. Shortly after, Tonon’s professional grappling career began as he would later win multiple titles at the Eddie Bravo Invitational and Metamoris professional grappling leagues.
As for Corminal, his basic foundation as an MMA fighter is Muay Thai. As the breadwinner of his family, he had to leave the Philippines and work as a Muay Thai trainer at MuayFit, one of the top MMA gyms in Malaysia.
Training out of MuayFit, Corminal is now based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,. He holds a professional MMA record of 4 wins and 3 losses with each of his career victories to date coming by way of knockout.
“It is the natural evolution in my career as a grappler,” Tonon said. “I have achieved all that I have set out to do in the world of Jiu-Jitsu, and now I am ready to take on a new challenge.”
A fixture in global grappling tournaments and widely considered one of the best submission grapplers in history, Tonon made his first appearance inside the ONE Championship cage when he took on Japanese legend Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki, 34, in the promotion’s first-ever Grappling Super-Match in May 2017. The American grappling prodigy won the contest against Aoki impressively via heel hook submission.
Tonon began wrestling in primary school, competing as an amateur before being introduced to BJJ at the age of 14, and would go on to win multiple IBJJF No-Gi world championships in different belts. He said, “I am excited to begin my ONE Championship career, and proud to showcase my skills on the biggest global stage of competition.”
On the other hand, Corminal aims for redemption. In his most recent bout, which was in November 2017, he succumbed to Arnaud “The Game” LePont, 37, of France by way of submission in the first round.
CONAN Daily 