“I’m a big problem for these guys” - Thanh Le mulls lightweight world title shot if he beats Garry Tonon

While he's not looking past his upcoming opponent, reigning ONE featherweight world champion Thanh Le is already entertaining the endless possibilities of the future in his mind.

The 36-year-old Louisiana native says that after successfully defending his featherweight strap, it’s time to go after a second belt.

In a recent interview with the South China Morning Post, Thanh said he has his eye on the ONE lightweight world title. He believes he would be a problem for both former titleholder Christian Lee and reigning ONE lightweight world champion Ok Rae Yoon.

Thanh Le had this to say about the two lightweight fighters:

“They're very well-rounded fighters but I think the gaps in each of their specialties, or I guess I should say, the areas of striking and grappling are areas that I like to take advantage of. So I think it's going to cause a problem with the way I move my body, the way I move my feet. And it's always the great equalizer, you just can't get touched by me one time. If I touch you once, you could possibly go to sleep and wake up facing those lights, and that's the problem, right.”

Thanh also compared himself to UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, with dynamite in his fists.

“Like you can be whooping [my] a*s for three rounds and [if I punch] you once, you really have a chance to go to sleep and that's a problem. And not only do I outpoint you, kick you, tag you up from the outside, like I'm Adesanya. But I've got that one-shot KO power too, which is a big problem for these guys.”

Check out Thanh Le's complete interview with SCMP MMA below:

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Thanh Le weighs in on Christian Lee vs. Ok Rae Yoon controversy

Christian Lee lost a close and controversial unanimous decision to Ok Rae Yoon late last year, surrendering his ONE lightweight world title in the process. Many people, including Lee’s sister Angela, who is the reigning ONE women’s atomweight world champion, believe the Singaporean-American superstar did more than enough to earn the judges’ nod.

Thanh Le agreed with Angela Lee’s statements after the fight and said her words were accurate.

“Yeah, I did watch it live. And I thought Christian did enough to keep it. I kind of agree with most of what his sister was saying as far as the way the scoring goes. And as far as what takes precedence, damage, you know, submission threats blah, blah, blah, and all the things that she detailed actually really well. Kind of leaning towards her arguments… It was really exciting. And I would love to end up in the cage with Christian. But Ok is a dangerous opponent as well.”

Safe to say, Thanh Le favors himself to beat both lightweights, or whoever he ends up facing in the Circle for a second world title. Before that, the Vietnamese-American star returns this Friday, March 11 at ONE: Lights Out, where he defends his featherweight belt against Garry Tonon.