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Reigning ONE featherweight MMA world champion Tang Kai is now ready to defend his world title against the interim champion Thanh Le in the co-main event of ONE 166 on March 1 inside the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.
Speaking at the recent press conference ahead of the highly anticipated rematch, the Chinese sensation has only one goal in mind: reassert his mastery against his Vietnamese-American rival to remain the best featherweight on the planet.
Tang Kai said:
“I’m so proud to be the first Chinese MMA World Champion and for this Friday, I’m going to win this rematch against Thanh Le. I love Qatar as a country, I’m so proud to be here, and on Friday night, I’ll put on an epic show against Thanh Le and for the fans.”
The Sunkin International Fight Club representative was supposed to fight Le in an immediate rematch last year, but he sustained an injury while preparing for that match, which prompted ONE Championship to book an interim world title bout between Le and Ilya Freymanov while waiting for his full recovery.
Now that he is all set, Kai wants to remind the world that he is still the same fighter who ran through the division and defeated seven other contenders on his way to his 26-pound golden belt glory.
Apart from his triumph over the 50/50 and MidCity MMA athlete, Kai’s pile of wins under the world’s largest martial arts organization also includes Sung Jong Lee, Edward Kelly, Keanu Subba, Ryogo Takahashi, Yoon Chang Min, and Kim Jaw Woong.
Tang Kai shrugs off the heel-hook submission win of Thanh Le over Ilya Freymanov
Despite the impressive and surprising submission victory of Le over Freymanov, Kai is still not sold on his grappling abilities and has made it clear that he won’t change his strategy because of that single victory.
Kai looks to silence his doubters, who claim that his previous win over Le was a fluke by getting a convincing victory on fight night.
Once he puts this rivalry to bed, the Chinese world champion could move forward in fighting the other top contenders in the featherweight division.
ONE 166: Qatar is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America on March 1.
