Garry Tonon glad he executed game plan to perfection against Martin Nguyen after ‘miscalculation’ against Thanh Le

Garry Tonon’s game plan against Martin Nguyen worked far better than the one he attempted to deploy against then-featherweight MMA world champion Thanh Le.

After scoring six straight victories inside the Circle, ‘The Lion Killer’ earned his first shot at a ONE world title. Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan as Tonon attempted to shoot in for a takedown on Thanh Le, leaving himself open for a series of ground-and-pound strikes that ultimately rendered him unconscious.

Since then, Tonon has earned three straight wins, all coming by way of submission. That includes his latest victory against former two-division titleholder Martin Nguyen at ONE 165.

Speaking about his impressive first-round submission of ‘The Situ-Asian’ in Tokyo, Tonon told Sportskeeda MMA:

“I mean the original game plan with Thanh Le was to take him down and take his back and strangle him, similar to you know [what I did to] Martin. That's how I see most of my fights going because of my skill.”

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Garry Tonon is pulling for Thanh Le to reclaim featherweight title at ONE 166

With a trio of finishes in his last three outings, Garry Tonon likely finds himself as the next man in line for another shot at the coveted ONE featherweight world title. Reigning champion Tang Kai is slated to unify the featherweight belts against interim champ Thanh Le later this year.

The winner of that fight will likely find themselves tasked with taking on ‘The Lion Killer’ before 2024 comes to a close.

As for who he would prefer to face, Garry Tonon would relish the opportunity to run it back with Thanh Le.

“For dramatic interest, I’d hope Thanh Le wins it so that I can take it away from him,” Tonon told Mitch Chilson in a post-fight interview. “It will be sweet revenge.”

If you missed any of the action or want to relive an epic night in ONE Championship history, the ONE 165 replay can be watched on demand via watch.onefc.com.