Garry Tonon returns to rematch Shamil Gasanov at ONE Fight Night 34

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Drew Beaupre | Last updated Jun 6, 2025 9:00 AM ET

(ONE Championship)

Former ONE Championship title challenger Garry Tonon will officially return this summer for a rematch with top featherweight contender Shamil Gasanov at ONE Fight Night 34.

A decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, Tonon made his MMA debut with ONE Championship in 2018 and stopped the first five opponents he faced before improving to 6-0 with a unanimous decision against Koyomi Matsushima in 2020.

An undefeated start to his MMA career earned Tonon a crack at then-featherweight MMA titleholder Thanh Le in 2022, but Le handed “The Lion Killer” his first MMA loss when he stopped him with strikes in just 56 seconds.

Tonon has successfully rebounded from his failed title bid with three-straight finishes, one of which came via kneebar against Gasanov at ONE Fight Night 12 in Bangkok.

(ONE Championship)

Garry Tonon & Shamil Gasanov Set To Run Things Back

The loss to Tonon was the first of Gasanov's career, and ONE Championship has confirmed with MMA Knockout that the 29-year-old will finally get a chance to avenge that result when the two men return to Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium at ONE Fight Night 34 on August 1.

That matchup with Tonon was just Gasanov’s second fight under the ONE Championship banner, and “The Cobra” returned to his winning ways last year with three victories before he most recently defeated former two-division ONE titleholder Martin Nguyen in February at ONE 171.

(ONE Championship)

Tonon’s last outing at ONE 165 also saw the 33-year-old best Nguyen for his third win in a row. “The Lion Killer” is currently unranked after not competing in well over a year, while Gasanov sits at #3 in ONE’s featherweight MMA rankings.

Kai Tang currently holds the ONE featherweight MMA title following back-to-back wins over former champion Le, but he did suffer a loss to #1-ranked Akbar Abdullaev last January. Abdullaev missed weight ahead of the fight, and as a result he was not eligible to win the featherweight belt even with his impressive performance.

(ONE Championship)

Gasanov will be eager to avenge his only loss and also move closer towards a title shot when he welcomes Tonon back on August 1 at ONE Fight Night 34, which features a matchup between ONE Lightweight Muay Thai Champion Regian Eersel and challenger George Jarvis in the card’s headlining bout.