One Championship: Garry Tonon says Martin Nguyen ‘can’t run or hide’ if he wins next fight
- American faces ‘pretty big jump up’ against undefeated featherweight contender in Kuala Lumpur on April 17
- Tonon thinks champion Nguyen ‘will have difficulty saying no’ to granting him a title shot
After making noises about challenging One Championship featherweight king Martin Nguyen, Garry Tonon has accepted he needs a big win first.
And the American jiu-jitsu sensation, who is 5-0 in MMA since transitioning to the sport in 2018, will get that chance in Kuala Lumpur on April 17 at One: Kings & Queens.
“As long as I win, I’ll be guaranteed a title shot I think,” Tonon told the Post. “Nobody told me for sure. Before I made that big push to fight Martin, they said, ‘Hey man, get one more under your belt and win decisively, you get a shot’. Nothing’s guaranteed but it seems like that’s the case.”
Tonon said he can’t release the name of his opponent but the fight is signed and it’s against an undefeated featherweight contender.
“He’s definitely gonna be a big test, much more experienced than me,” Tonon said. “I’m looking forward to it. It’s a pretty big jump up. It’s not easy to have an extensive record in this sport. If you have over 10 fights and you’re undefeated, I don’t care what people say, you’re doing something right.