What fans can expect from Garry Tonon at 'ONE: Reign of Kings'

Garry Tonon, Shinya Aoki

For the second time, multiple-time No Gi BJJ World Champion Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon, 26, will compete in a mixed martial arts bout in the ONE Championship cage. He will face Rahul “The Kerala Krusher” Raju, 26, of India in the lightweight division at “ONE: Reign of Kings” at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines on July 27, 2018.

Hailing from New Jersey, United States, Tonon began his martial arts career as a wrestler, competing extensively throughout grade school. He was 14 when he enrolled at the Ocean County BJJ of Tom DeBlass where was introduced to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

“I think one thing that fans can expect from me this time is a little more confidence, more sense of direction," Tonon stated. "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."

When Tonon made his professional MMA debut  at "ONE: Iron Will" on March 24, 2018 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, he knocked out his Malaysia-based Filipino opponent Richard "Lion Heart" Corminal, 36. It was Tonon's second ONE Championship outing.

"I think you’re going to see some interesting strategy when it comes to striking for this fight," Tonon said of his "ONE: Reign of Kings" bout against Raju. "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," Tonon added. "If you’re in danger, you’re under high stress, you’re always going to try and go back to what you know. We’ll see what happens there.”

Tonon’s first bout in ONE Championship was the inaugural Grappling Super Match of the promotion against Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki, 35, of Japan. Here is a clip from the match:

Ticket information for ONE: REIGN OF KINGS is available at www.onefc.com.

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