Garry Tonon took home a very satisfying victory in his latest ONE outing this past weekend, and it reminded him why he took up martial arts in the first place. “The Lion Killer” handed Shamil Gasanov his first professional loss via a second-round kneebar submission at ONE Fight Night 12 on July 14, with his performance earning him US$50,000 bonus.

The American grappling veteran was reflective in his post-fight interview, pointing out that the emphatic win will help to boost his confidence overall.

Garry Tonon had to go through a challenging first round before his victory

“I’m very happy with myself. It’s nice to just beat somebody up and then walk away victorious,” Tonon said. “The real reason that you get involved in martial arts is to be able to defend yourself, right? So to be able to struggle through a difficult situation and then be able to come back and to be able to have that faith in yourself that you’re going to be able to overcome the obstacle even when things don’t go great.”

The co-main event battle started on the ground early, with “The Lion Killer” shooting for his opponent’s legs right from the bell. Gasanov expertly stuffed that attempt, however, and proceeded to drop knees to Tonon’s head.

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The 31-year-old weathered that early storm then transitioned to his Russian foe’s back, and he spent most of the remaining time trying to get something going. In the second frame, Tonon once again faced the wrath of Gasanov’s strikes, which he absorb while in the bottom position. He then found a way to slither to the Russian’s leg, where he locked in a nasty kneebar to force the tap.

Garry Tonon is pleased about finally achieving the victory

Following the match, the #2-ranked featherweight contender urged the crowd to give a hand to his rival for the beating he gave him. He also spoke of how satisfying the win was, given the fight Gasanov had offered.

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“It’s a big part of why I got involved in martial arts, so it felt really good to me to have a tough time in the first round and then come out swinging the second round and still be aggressive and still come out like I wanted to win that fight,” Tonon said. “It meant a lot to me, you know? It speaks to my character, I think, and it proved that to myself if I didn’t already know it.”