![No.1 featherweight contender Tang Kai wants to make history as the first male Chinese MMA world champion at ONE 160 [Credit: ONE Championship]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/08/c2c85-16602858912103-1920.jpg)
![No.1 featherweight contender Tang Kai wants to make history as the first male Chinese MMA world champion at ONE 160 [Credit: ONE Championship]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%206.25'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Tang Kai wants to make massive headways in men’s MMA by becoming the first male Chinese world champion at ONE 160.
The nation has already witnessed the first female Chinese world champion in Xiong Jing Nan when she defeated Singapore’s boxing sensation Tiffany Teo by technical knockout in 2018. Hoping to make the same impact but in men’s MMA, Tang Kai feels that now is the time to make his mark in ONE history.
Thrilled by the prospect of being the new featherweight king, he told ONE Championship:
“I’m the first Chinese male to challenge for the gold belt. This is both pressure and motivation for me. I’m going to make history and let the world know my name. I’m Tang Kai from China!”
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If Kai captures the belt, he will not only receive world-wide acclaim, but would also foil Thanh Le’s plan to become a double world champion. Tang has all the elements he needs to be successful on August 26.
He’s the 2.0 version of Thanh Le, perhaps only faster, stronger, and more technical. This world title fight is an excellent opportunity for Kai to show the American fan base what Chinese warriors are made of by beating Thanh Le in emphatic fashion on the world stage.
Tang Kai never felt world title ready until he began beating tougher opponents
Tang Kai began his MMA journey by taking one fight at a time and never dreaming about the possibility that one day, his hard work would lead to a world title shot with Thanh Le.
The Chinese standout joined ONE Championship in 2019 and as he moved up the tier, his opponents were only getting tougher. His latest TKO victory against Kim Jae Woong at ONE X fast-tracked him to the No.1-contender spot under Thanh Le.
At the pre-fight media interview with Le, Kai spoke honestly about why he believes he deserves to be a champion:
"I actually never thought about being a champion from the first beginning of my career you know, I always took my career step by step you know when I first joined this business. [...] I started to think about being the champion when I get better and better and start to fight tough opponents. I only dream about things that match my abilities, so you know when I’m better, I want better things.”
