The Rematch: Garry Tonon vs. Dante Leon Headlines WNO

Despite the devastating news to grappling fans all over the world that Gordon Ryan and Craig Jones have pulled out of the upcoming Who's Number One event Friday, July 31st due to Covid 19, there is a silver lining in the fact that grappling fans will be treated to a rematch of one of the more exciting matches from the 2019 ADCC World Championships in Anaheim between Garry Tonon and Dante Leon.

Relive that exciting match below courtesy of FloGrappling.

 This match up was a great display of two different personalities on and off the mats.  On one hand we have the flamboyant, 12 year old boy trapped in a man's body that fans and fellow athletes know and love, Garry Tonon is a master of dynamic wrestling scrambles and escapes.  On the other, we had the ever evolving, Dante Leon who represents the perfect blend of brute strength and precision techniques.  Both athletes are well known for going for the finish in their matches, with Dante plodding forward like the Terminator and Garry leaping into the fray like a well-trained Paul Stanley swinging his feather boa and belting out the lyrics to Rock and Roll All Nite.

Though Garry Tonon would ultimately prevail via a heelhook, Dante had done a great job up to that point escaping Garry's entanglements.  Dante had several great back attack threats throughout the match.  Garry was able to squirm himself out of the stronger athletes attacks and eventually would set up the leg attack and secure the finish.

Fast forward to the rematch slated for tomorrow night on FloGrappling's WNO.  Both athletes have a number of notable wins under their belts with Garry defeating Davi Ramos in an extremely physical and dominating performance on the Fight to Win stage and most recently with a heel hook submission victory over Queixinho, again on the Fight to Win stage.  Since their match in 2019, Dante has gone on to win No Gi Worlds, Isaque Bahiense on the Fight to Win stage and Renato Canuto at Kasai.

With the Fight to Win ruleset in play, will we see anything different from these athletes?  Both are well known to always be hunting the submission and not satisfied to simply play it safe.  So on paper, the rule set appears to be perfect for both athletes.  Does Tonon have any advantage being the more "scrambly" escape artist known for his Exit The System style of grappling or will Dante be able to slow him down and dominate him positionally with superior strength?  

Either way the match ultimately goes, the grappling fans and BJJ Fanatics out there are going to get a rematch of one of the best ADCC matches of 2019 from two athletes who are continuing to evolve and have each been on a successful run.  With a near perfect rule set for these two athletes, the Who's Number One event is set to rise from the ashes of the King's corona diagnosis.

Let's take a look at a couple of techniques from each of these athletes.  In the video below, Dante Leon shares his love of the "chin strap" grip to help him increase the submission percentage of his guillotine chokes.  Check it out below!

 

 For Dante Leon, the chin strap allows him to control his opponent's head without needlessly exposing his hands to defense by the opponent which would create space and nullify the choke.  Additionally, Dante shows the danger of remaining flat on his back during the guillotine attempt as it allows the opponent to work and build their posture (something we'll see below in Garry's defense video) and possibly escape the submission.

By creating effective angles and maintaining the strong grips, Dante Leon is able to finish the choke.  The angle affords a stronger ability to compress the opponents chin towards his torso.

As a counterpoint, we share an excerpt from Garry Tonon's Exist the System series where he describes a guillotine defense that ultimately leads to an effective back attack or a possible counter submission utilizing the head and arm choke.  Check it out below!

In this video, the Harry Houdini of grappling, Garry Tonon is working from bottom half guard.  In this case from bottom half, Garry sits up to take the underhook giving his opponent an opportunity to snatch his neck with a guillotine grip.

The first thing Garry needs to do is take the pressure off of the arm and create space using his hands on his opponent's choking grip.  Once he's built the necessary space, he now extends his posture to prevent himself from being folded in allowing the guillotine's pressure to work on him.

Once posture and grip are maintained, Garry Tonon utilizes a butterfly hook to elevate his opponents hips and essentially create back exposure in his opponent.  If the opponent doesn't free his arm, Garry has a built in kimura style submission lying flat on this back, but this one is not high percentage because it is most likely that the opponent will remove his arm and prepare for the back defense.

From this position Garry can either attack the back or take advantage of the arm that is trapped inside and secure a head and arm choke.  In typical Garry Tonon fashion he turns lemons into lemonade going from bottom half guard to either the opponent's back or a submission.

For more from Dante Leon, check out his Guillotine Choke Systems and see how he uses the technique as more than just a submission.  You can get your copy here or at the Buy Now Link below!

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 For more on how Garry Tonon escapes all of the worst spots in BJJ, check out Exit the System available from BJJ Fanatics.  You can get your copy here or at the Buy Now Link below.

 

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