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A fitting hero's welcome greeted the reigning ONE featherweight MMA world champion Tang Kai when he returned home to China in 2022 after his championship triumph over Thanh Le at ONE 160.
In a recent appearance on Sportskeeda MMA’s YouTube channel for an interview, ahead of his rematch against Le at ONE 166: Qatar, Kai reminisced on the incredible moment when he was celebrated by thousands of his countrymen when he landed at the airport back home.
The 27-year-old Chinese superstar, the country’s first MMA world champion, narrated:
“When I saw that, you know, thousands of people on the street ready to celebrate my championship win, it was a special moment. It just made me feel so proud and also honored to be able to represent the hometown fellas.”
Le is only one of the athletes whom Tang Kai victimized, as he also defeated the likes of Sung Jong Lee, Edward Kelly, Keanu Subba, Ryogo Takahashi, Yoon Chang Min, and Kim Jae Woong on his way to becoming the undisputed king of the featherweight MMA division.
Tang Kai was supposed to defend his 26-pound golden belt against Le in June 2023 but suffered an injury in the buildup, which forced the promotion to book an interim championship match between Le and Freymanov to produce the rightful challenger to his reign.
Tang Kai doesn’t see Thanh Le as a jiu-jitsu specialist despite his recent win
Contrary to the previous claim of Le, who proclaims himself as a jiu-jitsu specialist after scoring a heel hook submission win over Freymanov during their October 2023 interim match at ONE Fight Night 15, Kai is brushing off that idea of his.
According to Kai, he will not change his game plan because of a submission victory that his rival has pulled off because he believes that anyone could do it in any match.
Also, he is confident that he will get the victory after their fight inside the Lusail Sports Arena to continue his reign as the undisputed featherweight MMA world champion.
ONE 166: Qatar is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America on March 1.
