Garry Tonon sees multiple titles in his future after ONE Championship 122

Garry Tonon predicts his MMA career is about to take a sizable upward turn after his ONE Championship 122 bout with Koyomi Matsushima.

Tonon (5-0) returns to action for the first time in 19 months in Friday’s ONE Championship 122 co-headliner, which takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore and streams on B/R Live. He considers the matchup with Matsushima to be a solid challenge, and one that could earn him a lightweight title shot.

That’s not all Tonon has his eyes on, though. Going into 2021, he sees the possibility of title fights in not one, but two different weight classes.

“Just based on the landscape of the division I would say it’s highly likely I get a title shot if I win this fight,” Tonon told MMA Junkie. “That’s something that the future holds. I think I can fight for the title within the next year and possibly even an opportunity to fight for both titles within the next year. I would love to challenge for the 170-pound division, as well, if there’s an opportunity to do that.”

Although Tonon has just five professional fights, his decorated grappling background has been beneficial in his transition and success in MMA. He only made his debut in March 2018, though, and with no fights since May 2019, he’s spent roughly half the time since turning pro on the sidelines.

Fortunately for Tonon, he’s still been able to flourish as a fighter despite the pause in competition brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. He’s not promising an unrecognizably improved product, but he’s confident he can display obvious growth.

“On the whole, I hope to be better,” Tonon said. “Do I think you guys are going to watch me go out there and all of a sudden I’m going to be Anderson Silva or some kind of polished striker, where you’ll see some sort of dynamic change like that? Probably not. But we’ll see. I hope so.”

Tonon thinks Matsushima could be the opponent to help bring the lesser-seen side out of him, though. His upcoming foe has never been submitted, and Tonon credited Matsushima for his sound wrestling skills.

Does that mean Tonon won’t be trying to take the fight to the ground? He wouldn’t say. However, he’s ready for any scenario that plays out at ONE Championship 122.

“It’s a good match,” Tonon said. “He’s definitely tough and durable. I’ve seen somebody try to submit him before, and it was definitely tight and he managed to work through it and get out. He’s familiar with submission attempts, and it doesn’t make him anxious. He’s going to be prepared. It’s going to be a challenge. It’s going to be interesting because I’m finally facing someone with a tougher wrestling background.”