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Garry Tonon

“Lion Killer”

Source: onefc.com

Garry Tonon is a five-time EBI winner and 2019 ADCC bronze medalist whose career spans no-gi grappling, MMA, and teaching at Kingsway.

Biography

Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon is an American Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and no-gi grappler whose competition record includes five Eddie Bravo Invitational titles and a bronze medal in the men’s under-77-kilogram division at the 2019 ADCC World Championships. Tonon began Brazilian jiu-jitsu at fourteen. ONE Championship reports that he trained under Tom DeBlass and Ricardo Almeida and received his black belt in September 2013; BJJ Heroes attributes the promotion to both coaches. He later began working regularly with John Danaher at Renzo Gracie Academy in New York. In a ONE interview, Tonon described Danaher as his primary coach, while BJJ Heroes reports that his competitive focus shifted toward no-gi grappling. That training circle also placed Tonon in a teaching role. BJJ Heroes reports that Gordon Ryan trained under his guidance and that Tonon and Danaher jointly awarded Ryan his black belt in February 2016. In Tonon’s own competition career, he accumulated five EBI titles. Official ADCC results placed him third at under 77 kilograms in 2019, behind JT Torres and Vagner Rocha. Tonon’s move toward mixed martial arts came through ONE Championship in 2017. In May, he defeated Shinya Aoki by heel hook in a submission-only match. In October, ONE announced that it had signed Tonon for mixed martial arts competition. The current Kingsway Jiu-Jitsu site lists Tonon as an instructor at its Austin academy alongside Danaher and Ryan. ONE’s current athlete page lists him as a “Former ONE Athlete.”

Sources for this profile

  • ONE Championship, "Garry 'The Lion Killer' Tonon" (publication date not shown), accessed 8 September 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • ONE Championship's current athlete page identifies the subject as Garry "The Lion Killer" Tonon.

      Where in the source: Athlete heading — Garry "The Lion Killer" Tonon

      Accessed:

    • ONE Championship's current athlete page labels Tonon's status as "Former ONE Athlete."

      Where in the source: About Garry Tonon — Status field

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Heroes, "Garry Tonon," accessed 8 September 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • BJJ Heroes identifies Garry Tonon by the nickname "Lion Killer" and associates him with Renzo Gracie Academy.

      Where in the source: Garry Tonon Jiu-Jitsu — Nickname and Team/Association fields

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes dates Tonon's birth to 12 September 1991 in New Jersey.

      Where in the source: Garry Tonon Biography — opening birth sentence

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes says Tonon started jiu-jitsu at fourteen, became a devoted student of Tom DeBlass, also trained with Ricardo Almeida, and was awarded his black belt by both coaches in September 2013.

      Where in the source: Biography — age 14, Ocean County, Almeida, and black-belt paragraphs

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes reports that Tonon worked extensively with John Danaher at Renzo Gracie Academy in New York and shifted his competitive focus toward no-gi grappling.

      Where in the source: Profile introduction and Biography — John Danaher at RGA-NYC

      Accessed:

  • Wikipedia contributors, "Garry Tonon," accessed 8 September 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • The English Wikipedia profile gives the fuller name Garry Lee Tonon and a birth date of 12 September 1991.

      Where in the source: Infobox — Garry Lee Tonon; Born row

      Accessed:

    • The English Wikipedia infobox lists Tonon as a second-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

      Where in the source: Infobox — Rank row

      Accessed:

  • ONE Championship, "American Grappling Superstar Garry Tonon Signs With ONE Championship," 16 October 2017.(opens in a new tab)

    • ONE Championship's 2017 signing announcement identifies Tonon as American.

      Where in the source: Signing announcement — American submission grappling sensation

      Accessed:

    • ONE reports that Tonon began Brazilian jiu-jitsu at age fourteen, trained under Tom DeBlass and Ricardo Almeida, and received his black belt in September 2013.

      Where in the source: Signing announcement — BJJ at age 14; black belt in September 2013

      Accessed:

    • Before signing for mixed martial arts competition in October 2017, Tonon appeared in ONE's May 2017 submission-only match against Shinya Aoki and won by heel hook.

      Where in the source: Signing announcement — submission-only match with Shinya Aoki

      Accessed:

  • ONE Championship, "The Man Who Transformed Garry Tonon's Martial Arts Game," 2 November 2018.(opens in a new tab)

    • In ONE's interview feature, Tonon describes moving from initial training with Tom DeBlass to sustained work with John Danaher at Renzo Gracie Academy in New York, where Danaher became his primary coach.

      Where in the source: Feature — Renzo Gracie Academy and primary coach paragraphs

      Accessed:

    • ONE's 2018 feature credits Tonon with five Eddie Bravo Invitational titles.

      Where in the source: Opening section — five EBI Grappling Titles

      Accessed:

  • Kingsway Jiu-Jitsu, "About Us" (publication date not shown), accessed 8 September 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • Kingsway's academy history states that Tonon won five Eddie Bravo Invitational titles as part of the early Danaher-led squad.

      Where in the source: About Us — early squad and EBI titles paragraph

      Accessed:

    • Kingsway's history records Tonon's bronze medal at the 2019 ADCC World Championships.

      Where in the source: About Us — ADCC 2019 team-performance paragraph

      Accessed:

    • Kingsway Jiu-Jitsu's current site says the Austin academy is led by Gordon Ryan, John Danaher and Garry Tonon and calls the trio its instructors.

      Where in the source: About Us — opening leadership paragraph and instructor section

      Accessed:

  • FloArena, "2019 ADCC World Championships," official event brackets and results linked from ADCC's 29 September 2019 Day 2 results page; accessed 8 September 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • The official ADCC 2019 results place Garry Tonon third in the men's under-77-kilogram division, behind JT Torres and Vagner Rocha and ahead of Dante Leon.

      Where in the source: 2019 ADCC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS — Male / -77 / Championship — PLACES; adjacent Male / -88 / Championship PLACES checked

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Heroes, "Gordon Ryan," accessed 8 September 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • BJJ Heroes' Gordon Ryan profile says Ryan trained under Tonon's guidance and that Tonon awarded him a black belt in February 2016, with the promotion shared with John Danaher.

      Where in the source: Gordon Ryan Biography — Garry Tonon coaching and February 2016 promotion

      Accessed:

Competition results

Recorded tournament results, newest first
YearEventResultDivision
2019ADCC 2019Source: adcombat.com-77 kgNo-giVerified3rd place-77 kgNo-giVerified
2017ADCC 2017Source: adcombat.com-77 kgNo-giVerified4th place-77 kgNo-giVerified

Lineage

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Trained under

Students1