My first reaction when I read this was "damn isn't he getting old to be messing with a guy like Tonon?"
Then I remembered that just a couple weeks ago Xande Ribero won his SIXTH IBJJF world title at the age of 34.. he's got a couple of ADCC golds in there too. His oldest and newest world titles are 11 years apart.
Age is a factor, but apparently a small one... at least for some guys.