Garry Tonon, Tammi Musumeci secure pivotal wins at ONE Fight Night 12
BJJ stars Garry Tonon and Tammi Musumeci both picked up important victories at ONE Fight Night 12.
ONE Fight Night 12: Superlek vs. Khalilov on Prime Video took place on Friday, July 14, and featured a pair of prominent BJJ athletes.
First, in a 10-minute, submission-only strawweight submission grappling contest, five-time IBJJF world champion Tammi Musumeci earned a decision victory over former opponent Amanda “Tubby” Alequin.
Much like their first two encounters – which took place in 2021 at a Who’s Number One event – Musumeci spent much of her time attacking the back while Alequin countered with leg lock attempts. And while neither grappler was ever able to secure a clean dominant position or a deep submission attempt, Musumeci came the closest with a look at the north/south position, as well as a near back-take in the closing seconds.
With the victory, the 29-year-old improves her ONE record to 2-0, having previously defeated Bianca Basilio. The organization has not yet created a world title for the women’s strawweight submission grappling division, but if it does, Musumeci seems like an obvious candidate for a challenger for the inaugural belt.
And whether it’s with the ONE submission grappling world title on the line or not, Musumeci says she’s interested in a match against fellow American Danielle Kelly, who sports a 3-0 record in the promotion.
Garry Tonon hands Shamil Gasanov first defeat
In the evening’s co-main event, Garry Tonon picked up his second straight submission victory, submitting the previously undefeated Shamil Gasanov with a brutal kneebar in the second round.
The longtime John Danaher student survived some early trouble, taking a number of knees to his head in the bout’s opening minutes. But in the second round, Tonon showcased his trademark explosive submission game, rolling into a kneebar just as Gasanov seemed to be taking his back.
Tonon came into the fight as the featherweight MMA division’s #2-ranked contender. He was unsuccessful in his first crack at the ONE world title against Thanh Le back in 2022, but with Chinese star Tang Kai now sitting atop the division, Tonon may have positioned himself for another shot at gold.
