Garry Tonon is an American grappler and MMA fighter from New Jersey, best known for his leg locks. He won five EBI titles, took ADCC bronze in 2019 and went 9–2 as a featherweight in ONE Championship MMA. He also gave Gordon Ryan his black belt.
Background and lineage
Tonon wrestled folkstyle before starting jiu-jitsu in New Jersey under Tom DeBlass and Ricardo Almeida, part of Renzo Gracie's lineage. He won the IBJJF Worlds at juvenile blue belt in 2008 and No-Gi Worlds titles at brown belt in 2011 and 2012. DeBlass and Almeida promoted him to black belt in September 2013. He also trained with John Danaher at the Renzo Gracie Academy in Manhattan as part of the Danaher Death Squad. He now runs Garry Tonon Jiu Jitsu in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
Competition highlights
- EBI: titles at EBI 1 and 3 (−170 lb) and EBI 5 and 11 (−155 lb), plus a further title at −205 lb that Wikipedia lists without a citation. His EBI 3 run included a triangle armbar on Eddie Cummings.
- ADCC: bronze at −77 kg in 2019. He beat Renato Canuto in the quarter-final, lost the semi-final to JT Torres on points and heel hooked Dante Leon in the bronze match. In the absolute, Gordon Ryan choked him in the quarter-final. He also competed in 2013, 2022 and 2024.
- IBJJF no-gi: Pan No-Gi titles, including −73.5 kg gold in 2015, and absolute bronze at the 2014 World No-Gi.
Style and signature techniques
BJJ Heroes lists the rear naked choke and inside heel hook as his favourite techniques. Heel hooks are his most frequent finish, with 18 inside and 8 outside on BJJ Heroes. He gets to them from inside ashi and the saddle. He also finishes with the guillotine and the kneebar, which he took into MMA with a kneebar win over Shamil Gasanov in 2023.
Notable matches
- Kron Gracie, ADCC 2013: a rear naked choke loss that Kron used on his way to −77 kg gold.
- Dante Leon, ADCC 2019: an outside heel hook in the −77 kg bronze match. Wikipedia also lists a BJJ Awards Match of the Year against Leon.
- Tye Ruotolo, ONE 157 (2022): a D'Arce choke loss in a submission grappling match.
- Martin Nguyen, ONE (January 2024): a rear naked choke in MMA that earned a $50,000 bonus.
MMA career
Tonon debuted in ONE Championship in March 2018 with a TKO of Richard Corminal. He won his first six fights, then lost to Thanh Le by knockout in a March 2022 featherweight title fight. He bounced back with submissions of Johnny Nuñez, Shamil Gasanov and Martin Nguyen before losing a decision rematch to Gasanov in August 2025. ONE confirmed in April 2026 that he was no longer under contract.