Garry Tonon Thinking March 2018 Makes Sense For MMA Debut
Garry Tonon Thinking March 2018 Makes Sense For MMA Debut
Tonon dished on all things grappling, including his thoughts on DIllon Danis, grappling in the Olympics and when fans can expect to see him in the cage.
Grappling superstar Garry Tonon is staying busy.
After a long and grueling training camp ahead of the ADCC World Championships in September, he turned around and went directly to help Georges St. Pierre prepare for his UFC 216 title match in early October.
And since then, Tonon has been cramming every bit of MMA knowledge he can find to prepare for his 2018 MMA debut.
The veteran grappler has been teasing his move to MMA for awhile now, but it all became official last month when he inked a deal with leading Asian MMA promotion OneFC.
Making an in-studio appearance on The MMA Hour, Tonon dished on all things grappling, including his thoughts on DIllon Danis, grappling in the Olympics, and when fans can expect to see him in the cage.
I don’t have a date, but they were asking me when I’d be ready and I think I gave them March, so sometime around March.
"This is a brand-new sport for me," Tonon said. "I don’t really have experience in mixed martial arts. I’m pretty motivated, because I’m going to be locked in a cage with someone who wants to punch and kick my head off. So I better get good fast!"
Although Tonon's future lies in MMA, he still isn't willing to give up grappling completely just yet. In fact, Tonon will compete in a round-robin style tournament at the Kasai Lightweight Pro Invitational on Dec. 9 against some of the toughest names in jiu-jitsu, including AJ Agazarm, Mansher Khera, Gianni Grippo, and more.
"I’m obviously headed more towards MMA now, but jiu-jitsu will always be my roots," Tonon said. "That was a big part in negotiating the contract with ONE. I definitely still want to be able to grapple.
"They are in line with what my wants are. They are open to potentially having other grappling matches like the one I had against Shinya (Aoki). You may even see me grapple there again next year, who knows."
Watch the full interview here.
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