“It’s going to be a different-looking fight” – Thanh Le vows to flip the script in title unification rematch with Tang Kai

Interim ONE featherweight MMA world champion Thanh Le is set for a unification bout against his division's undisputed king Tang Kai at ONE 166: Qatar. On Friday, March 1, ONE Championship will make its way to the Middle East and debut in Qatar.

Tang and Le first fought at ONE 160 back in August 2022 when the Chinese striker soundly defeated the Vietnamese-American via a unanimous decision. An immediate rematch was scheduled but was scrapped after Tang pulled out due to an injury.

Thanh Le then faced and submitted Ilya Freymanov in just over a minute at ONE Fight Night 15 for the interim strap.

Speaking to ONE Championship, Le addressed the rematch and predicted how it would play out:

“The rematch is long overdue. It shouldn’t have taken this long, but it did. The bad part for him is that we had more time to make sure that we sharpened up this game plan. It’s going to be a completely different-looking fight.”

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Thanh Le is not looking past Tang Kai at ONE 166:Qatar

Speaking further on his upcoming rematch with Tang, Le admitted that he has the blinders on and is putting all his focus on his rival. As it happens, the Vietnamese-American former undisputed king doesn't see any other fighter for him than the man who took his throne away.

He told ONE:

“It’s something that I haven’t thought about because Tang is so important to me, and I’m not in a position to call any shots because I need to get my belt back.”

Having already lost to the Chinese world champion, Le is wise not to shift his focus away from getting his throne back on March 1.

Watch Thanh Le rematch Tang Kai at ONE 166: Qatar, which will air live and free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.