ONE Fight Night 6: Johnny Nunez Confident Of Outlasting Garry Tonon

Add as a preferred source on Google

Bangkok, January 13: Three long years after making his ONE debut, Johnny Nunez is finally ready to make the walk again when he returns to the Circle this weekend.

"Johnny Boy" will be in action on January 14 at ONE Fight Night 6: Superbon vs. Allazov, where he takes on former ONE Featherweight World Title challenger Garry Tonon in a bout that carries serious World Title implications.

Second-ranked featherweight contender Tonon is an elite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who will likely represent the stiffest test of Nunez's career to date when their battle gets underway at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

But the American - a former Division 1 collegiate wrestler in his own right - believes that he has the skill set to not only fight off Tonon's submissions but make him pay for his attempts too.

"I'm great at locking people down and controlling a situation like rolling under the legs and coming out on top. I think it's a fight, and everything happens. Every fight is different. Not everything's going to go the same way," he said.

"Hopefully, he does try to jump under me, and I can hold him there and land some great shots while I'm holding him on top."

The American college wrestling circuit is widely regarded as one of the most grueling combat sports competitions in the world.

Nunez feels that his years of grinding away there have equipped him with elite conditioning that will allow him to wear down his opponent and take out a stoppage win late in the bout.

"The ideal way would probably take him into deep waters and finish him in the third. I love to take other fighters into deep waters and drown them. I know I got the stamina to go as long as anybody. I see it happening that way," he said.

The 37-year-old will also be dropping down from lightweight to make his featherweight debut at ONE Fight Night 6 - a transition he believes is a byproduct of his revamped outlook on training.

As a father, the 7-2 fighter uses his time in the gym to focus on who he fights for and why, meaning he now appreciates it on a different level.

"My training process evolved in a lot of different ways, mainly mentally. Now that I got two kids to fight for, it's been more of a mindset for me to be in a better place for training and not feel so stressed about making money or providing for my kids," Nunez said.

"Now it's just about having fun and enjoying the whole process, enjoying the journey."

Source: Media Release