No. 3-ranked featherweight contender Ilya Freymanov is inching closer to his dream of becoming a world champion. The Russian KO artist signed the dotted line against former ONE featherweight world champion and current No. 1-ranked divisional challenger Thanh Le for the ONE interim featherweight MMA world title in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 15: Tawanchai vs. Superbon on Prime Video.
This all-important and crucial featherweight clash that commences inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, will not only crown the interim world champion but will also determine the next challenger for the reigning undisputed ONE featherweight world champion, Tang Kai.
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In his most recent interview with ONE Championship, the Kuznya Fight Club athlete gave his respect for Thanh Le, citing that he was a dominant world champion when he ruled the featherweight division.
The 27-year-old said:
"Le was a dominant champion. [I’ve got] nothing but respect for his career. I've wanted to fight him for a long time. It's a big challenge for me, and a win over Le will make me the [next person] to challenge [Tang Kai]."
But that respect won’t let Freymanov distract him from his goal of winning a world title and an opportunity to set up a unification bout with Tang Kai. The Russian holds an MMA record of 12 wins and two losses, which includes his wins over former two-division world champion Martin Nguyen in his October 2022 promotional debut via first-round TKO. He followed that up with another first-round rear-naked choke finish of Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg in June 2023.
ONE Fight Night 15 will air live on US Primetime free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in North America.
