Thanh Le Unfazed By Tonon's Grappling Game At ONE X

After pulling off a sensational knockout win over Martin Nguyen, Thanh Le knows that Garry Tonon will give him a different kind of fight.

Le and Tonon are set to face each other at ONE X on December 5, the first title defense for the 36-year-old mixed martial arts fighter.

This early though, Le stressed he has proven what he can do and will not pass up any opportunity against “The Lion Killer.”

“I think as I’ve shown in my previous fights and movements, well, I think I do a good job of making sure that openings come. I think I’m going to do a good job of keeping him in an uncomfortable state while he’s on the feet and open that opportunity and try to land that money shot,” Le said.

Photo: ONE Championship photo

Le is aware that Tonon carries a dangerous ground game. Most see the Ameican resorting to his grappling prowess to even the odds.

However, the featherweight king prefers to just let it all hang out and figure out the best move when he faces Tonon.

“Do I think if we did a grappling match I would submit him? Probably not. Do I think that if we end up two to three rounds on the feet that he’s going to be able to withstand or not catch a shin to the dome? I don’t think so. That’s obviously why we’re in there, we’re trying to find this [expletive] out. We got to battle it out and figure it out,” Le stated.

Garry Tonon Photo: ONE Championship photo

For his part, Tonon appears confident of pulling off a victory at ONE X as he feels that he can finish off Le in two rounds and via submission.

“I would say, second-round submission via rear-naked choke, that would be my guess. I think he’s going to be able to scramble out of a lot of things. I think it’s going to be tough to submit him in the first round. I think he’s going to get really tired. I think by the second round, I would have worn him down enough that I get to his back and that’s it,” the 30-year-old BJJ legend declared.

Like Le, Tonon also agrees that the match will all boil down to who executes the much better game plan.

“The real question is, does that matter? And the answer, I don’t think so. I think it’s no. I think that regardless if there’s a difference between the levels of striking and the levels of grappling, either man can get caught,” Tonon explained.