American grappling ace Garry Tonon continued his rise up ONE Championship’s featherweight ladder by claiming a dominant victory over former title challenger Koyomi Matsushima , then staked his claim for a title shot of his own. After some wild early striking exchanges, Tonon (6-0) successfully closed the distance on Matsushima (12-5) and, after initially grabbing a guillotine choke on the Japanese contender, moved to his opponent’s back and dragged the action to the mat. Once there, “The Lion Killer” locked up a body triangle and relentlessly pursued a rear-naked choke, while Matsushima did well to fend off the American’s submission attack and survive the round, despite having Tonon on his back for the final three minutes of the round. It didn’t take Tonon long to take matters to the mat in Round 2, as he once again took Matsushima’s back and looked to work his way toward another submission opportunity. Again, the Japanese athlete stayed composed under intense pressure and countered Tonon well to stay alive in the matchup, and even managed to finish the round on top and score with some heavy ground strikes to register a little offense of his own before the bell. Tonon switched gears at the start of Round 3 and dived for a leg lock, but Matsushima, who had prepped for the fight by training with Japanese leglock legend Masakazu Imanari, managed to escape the predicament.
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