“A more dynamic striker” - Danny Kingad says Thanh Le has edge over Tang Kai in KO war

At ONE 160, there will be a battle of precision versus power when ONE featherweight world champion Thanh Le defends his title for the second time against No.1-ranked contender Tang Kai.

One of the things that makes mixed martial arts so exciting is that anything can happen. There is no way to know how things will play out, but if you’re a gambler, betting on this one ending with a spectacular knockout is probably a safe bet.

In 11 combined bouts inside the circle, Thanh Le and Thai Kai have nine knockouts between them. While both fighters take a different approach, the result is the same. Someone’s lights are likely to go out in the eagerly anticipated co-main event.

Recently giving his thoughts on the world title showdown was former flyweight world title challenger Danny Kingad. ‘The King’ sat down with ONE Championship to discuss some of the promotion’s biggest bouts on ONE’s historic offering on August 26.

Speaking about the featherweight title clash, Kingad said:

“It’s striker versus striker, so expect it to be very exciting. Of course, Thanh Le’s taekwondo is legit. He’s one of the best in MMA at it. And then, Tang Kai has that Muay Thai and wushu background, so I think it’s a good clash of styles.”

Believing Le is a more diverse striker, Kingad gives the Vietnamese-American the edge against the heavy-handed Tang.

“Though they are both heavy-handed punchers, I give the edge to Le because of the diversity in his offense. He’s just a more dynamic striker than Tang Kai. Either way, someone’s getting knocked out.”

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Thanh Le is ready for whatever Tang Kai brings at ONE 160

Following his upset win over former world champion Martin Nguyen to capture ONE gold and his jaw-dropping 56-second knockout of ‘The Lion Killer’ Garry Tonon at ONE: Lights Out, Thanh Le has looked practically unstoppable. In his next outing, the Vietnamese-American will face another tough task against knockout artist Tang Kai.

Ready to bring home a world title to China, Tang is determined to make a name for himself at the expense of Le. However, the champion delivered a warning to his challenger while speaking to ONE Championship ahead of their co-main event clash.

“I’ve heard him mention that he wanted to get me out of there early, so we’ll see how that goes. I think that’s really [what] my strongest attribute is: if you come at me early in the fight, all my fights have ended early. So, we’ll see if he plays it patient or if he comes out guns-a-blazing. We’re definitely ready for both."