“I knew that fight was going to happen” – Thanh Le says match versus Ilya Freymanov was inevitable

After losing his ONE featherweight world championship last year, Thanh Le was set to get a shot at reclaiming his belt at ONE Fight Night 12.

When the fight fell apart due to an injury to the champion Tang Kai, Le was ready to defend his position as the number one contender in a high-stakes match-up.

With the champion’s return still an ongoing process, an interim belt was created for the division, allowing it to progress by having two of the top competitors in the weight class face off with one another.

As a result, ONE Championship fans are in for a treat when Le faces Ilya Freymanov at ONE Fight Night 15 on October 6.

Instead of being bitter about losing his immediate rematch to try and reclaim his title, the former champion is excited to test himself against the division’s most dangerous up-and-coming challenger.

In back-to-back appearances on the global stage, Freymanov has produced consecutive first-round finishes including his devastating debut against the former champion Martin Nguyen.

During a recent interview with ONE Championship, Thanh Le spoke about this match-up and how the Russian contender is a fighter that he has had his eye on since he stepped inside the Circle for the first time last year.

Knowing that their paths would cross down the line regardless of the circumstances, he is ready and motivated to test himself against the fresh blood at featherweight:

“I knew that was a fight that was eventually going to happen no matter what. Whether I beat Tang Kai and was champion, or maybe I had to work my way back or something like that. I knew that fight was going to happen. I would have 100% preferred that fight before I called it quits.”

ONE Fight Night 15 will air live and free in U.S. primetime for North American viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.