"I've been waiting for over a year" - Tang Kai says TKO against Thanh Le was the only thing on his mind during layoff

Tang Kai was impressive in becoming the undisputed ONE featherweight MMA world champion. It was something he said he envisioned while on a long layoff to recover from an injury.

The 27-year-old Chinese fighter defeated erstwhile interim world titleholder Thanh Le by TKO in the third round of their unification fight at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1.

After a slow start to the contest, Tang Kai made inroads in the second round when he connected with a left hook that busted Le's nose open and then landed telling body shots after cutting the distance.

He further broke through in the third round when he landed a nasty right hook late in the frame that sent the American-Vietnamese veteran to the canvas. He followed it up with a flurry of punches, which Le had little answer to, forcing referee Olivier Coste to halt the contest with 12 seconds left in the canto.

In an interview with ONE Championship in the aftermath of his successful title defense, Tang spoke of what went down in his recent showdown with Thanh Le, including how their team worked on coming up with a finish.

The champ said:

"I must thank my team and coaches because they helped me make tactics to finish the match. I felt really good to win a match by knockout that I've been waiting for over a year to have."

The win was the second in as many matches for Tang Kai over Le, whom he defeated by unanimous decision in August 2022 to become the ONE featherweight MMA king. It also improved his professional MMA record to 19-2, with his last eight victories coming under ONE Championship.

ONE 166 was the first-ever live on-ground event of ONE in the country of Qatar, which took place at the Lusail Sports Arena. Its replay is available for free to North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.

Tang Kai awarded $50,000 performance bonus for TKO win over Thanh Le

The impressive third-round TKO victory of Tang Kai over Thanh Le earned him a $50,000 performance bonus from ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, one of two bonuses handed out at ONE 166: Qatar.

It was the second time the undisputed ONE featherweight world champion merited a performance bonus, after ONE X in March 2022, where he knocked out South Korean Kim Jae Woong in the opening round of their clash.

Apart from unifying the featherweight MMA belts, Tang's victory at ONE 166 extended his winning streak to 11 straight, the last eight all under ONE Championship.

Also winning a $50,000 performance bonus at ONE 166 was Russian juggernaut Anatoly Malykhin, who defeated Dutch fighter Reinier de Ridder by TKO in the third round to seize the ONE middleweight MMA world title.

He made history by becoming the first three-division ONE MMA world champion, adding the middleweight gold to the light heavyweight and heavyweight MMA belts already in his possession.