Grappling superstar Garry Tonon made his successful MMA debut earlier this year, but he says he's still having trouble adapting to his new career path. 

Fighting on July 27 on ONC Championship in Manila, Philippines, Tonon is set to face off with Rahul Raju of India. 

Tonon's MMA debut couldn't have gone better: he stopped Filipino fighter Richard Corminal by TKO in the second round after showing off his improving striking skills. 

Tonon lands a blow on first MMA opponent Richard Corminal

But Tonon revealed that his striking is still a work in progress, and his lack of MMA experience is at the forefront of his mind. 

"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," he said at the pre-fight press conference. 

"That’s why we spar pretty much everyday. 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." 

Training out of the Renzo Gracie academy in New York, Tonon works on a day-to-day basis primarily with his main coach John Danaher. The 26-year-old, who began training jiu-jitsu at age 14 and earned his black belt under Tom DeBlass, will appear on the same event as association founder Renzo Gracie. 

"I think one thing that fans can expect from me this time is a little more confidence, more sense of direction. 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. We’ll see what happens there.”