Garry Tonon - World BJJ No-Gi Champion

Garry Tonon- a multiple BJJ title holder is a Black Belt under Tom DeBlass and Ricardo Almeida and specializes in submissions. Tonon is well-known for his competitive temperament and willingness to "take on all comers." He competes frequently in a variety of tournaments, such as submission-only, ADCC, IBJJF, and more.

Garry Tonon was raised in a small city in New Jersey near the well-known Jersey Shore.

Tonon started his grappling career in wrestling during 5th grade and followed it for the next 5 years.

Tonon's mother worked as an expert for a non-profit group home for kids with disabilities. Her profession enabled her to spot the signs of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in her boy- Garry Tonon.

Garry was 14 years old when one of his friends accompanied him to a local Jiu-Jitsu event. He developed an interest in the sport and began attending Jiu-Jitsu sessions at his friend's club. Tonon acknowledged that Jiu-Jitsu helped him to cope with ADHD.

Tonon’s first Jiu-Jitsu academy was set up specifically for MMA, where he was able to get only three grappling classes in a week. Tonon enjoyed the training, but he wanted to concentrate on the sporting aspect of BJJ, so he left after 6 months.

Passion fuels immersive energy to achieve life goals. The same passion motivated Garry to become a top-level grappling martial artist and along the journey, he found an advertisement for OCBJJ Academy. Garry decided to join the Academy while continuing his high school studies. After joining, Tom DeBlass's teaching methodology urged him to maintain his schedule to attend two daily classes. He became one of the dedicated students of DeBlass.

Garry’s interest and devotion to Jiu-Jitsu bore fruit in becoming a star BJJ fighter. Tom DeBlass started taking Tonon to Ricardo Almeida's Coaching sessions (who was the Tom DeBlass trainer). Tonon's special bond with Ocean County and Almeida's academy became the primary motivation to earn his first International Championship in 2008.

Tonon kept a strong BJJ-focused training schedule for the first five years of his grappling career, but his overwhelming success in Gi tournaments pushed him toward BJJ No-Gi competitions.

After observing Eddie Cummings' success in BJJ competitions, he reached out to John Danaher (Cummings' teacher) to specialize in grappling in New York, where he developed a passion for heel hooks and lower body submission attacks and became renowned for her leg lock submission attacks.

Practicing with Legendary Danaher improved his game. He was part of the famous "Danaher Death Squad". Garry and Cummings played their part in the popularity of DDS.

In September 2013, Tonon’s favorite coaches Ricardo Almeida and Tom DeBlass awarded him with his BJJ Black Belt. After receiving a black belt, he went on to compete in the ADCC Wrestling World Championship in Beijing.

Garry Tonon competed in dozens of championships from 2013-2017 after winning the black belt title. He won world titles by competing with the big names of BJJ including Joao Miyao, Ralek Gracie, AJ Agazarm, Vinny Magalhaes, and Dillon Danis.

In 2018, Garry Tonon started his MMA career with an impressive performance at One Championship: Iron Will in Bangkok. He won his first Professional mixed arts fight against Richard Corminal and competed against Rahul Raju in his second One Championship tournament. Gary Tonnon has earned a reputation for his abilities and prowess in submitting opponents with his famous leg locks.

One Championship ranking system was introduced in April 2020 to evaluate the best Champions of the year. Garry secured 5th position in the One Championship 2022 ranking.

Garry Tonon ranked 9 out of 117 in Asia Southeast Pro Men’s Lightweight Champions category.

Garry is currently ranked #2 in the Featherweight Division.      

World ranking shows the data of the best world fighters. Garry ranked 71 among the greatest MMA Grapplers of all time. He also secured the 118th position in the Current MMA Lightweight Fighters of the world.

Garry Tonon is currently coaching at Evolve Mixed Martial Arts in Singapore. He is widely considered one of the world's top submission grapplers of all time. Garry is recognized for his bold attitude and is among the world's best leg lock experts, with vibrant and engaging submission techniques.

Garry is among the most dynamic grapplers of grappling martial arts. Garry teaches techniques from a variety of positions, such as sweeps, passes, and submissions, with an emphasis on concept-based learning.

Anyone can learn tips on how to start winning grip-fighting battles, develop and understand trends, misdirect, and more with this 10-volume set of Tonon’s Course.

This was the final of the ADCC World Championship 2019. Fans' Favorite Garry Tonon faced World Champion Dante Leon. Dante Leon appeared for the first time in the ADCC Championship.

In the beginning, Dante attempted a half-guard that passed by the Lion killer. Both champions showcased an outstanding technical performance. Dante dominated in the 3rd minute of the fight with a strong body lock but failed to submit his opponent.

He won the fight by applying outside Heel Hook Submission.

The professional Jiu-Jitsu Invitational championship was held in 2015 that was worth watching. Garry Tonon played Polaris 2 against the most lethal Japanese leglock grappler- Masakazu Imanari who is the 10th Dan Master of Leglocks.

Garry Tonon looked quite impressive in his maiden match at 150 pounds. Tonon had been up against one of the most fearsome leglock masters in MMA history. However, Tonon didn't back down, it was like going inside the beast's belly and defeating him there. Tonon's reverse heel hook not only strangled Imanari flawlessly but the fact made the fight more stunning that Imanari had fought 44 times in his MMA career and had never been submitted before.

At the end of the fight, the MMA legend did not succeed in maintaining his legacy and submitted Imanari with his strong heel hook submission.

• 2x IBJJF BJJ World No-Gi Champion
• 5x Eddie Bravo Invitational Champion
• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi (2015)
• 1st Place EBI WW Invitational (2014/2015)
• 1st Place EBI LW Invitational (2015)
• 1st Place EBI LHW Invitational (2016)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi (2015)
• 3rd Place ADCC World Championship (2019)
• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2014)
• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2011/2012)
• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship (2008)
• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi (2010, 2011/2012)
• 1st Place ADCC US Trials (2013)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi (2010)
• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2011)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi (2011)
• 2x 1st Place in One Championship: Reign of Kings (2018)
• 1st Place in One Championship - Heart of the Lion (2018)
• 1st Place in One Championship - A New Era (2019)
• 1st Place in One Championship - Enter the Dragon (2019)
• 1st Place in One Championship - Big Bang (2020)

Garry Tonon vs Dante Leon - 2019 ADCC World Championships

Polaris 4: Garry Tonon vs Gilbert Burns

Garry Tonon vs. Tye Ruotolo | ONE Championship Full Fight

Photo credit: @mymmanews , @evolve-mma