“Punching is what I like more than wrestling” - Tang Kai says he can grapple but prefers to KO opponents

ONE featherweight knockout king Tang Kai will face dominant ONE featherweight world champion Thanh Le in the co-main event of ONE 160. The epic clash will be a classic bout between an unstoppable force and an immovable object. Both men are known for their concussive power, preferring to knock their opponents out more than anything.

The Chinese KO artist hasn't always been a pure striker, however. In an interview with ONE Championship, Tang Kai explained that he wasn't a strike-centric fighter at the beginning of his career:

“I started out as a wrestler. Wrestling is a sport that represents the strong. Whether in practice or in competition, they need strong power all the time.”

The Chinese dynamo continued:

“I’ve always followed all kinds of fights. Punching is what I like more than wrestling, and being able to stop an opponent by KO made me more excited... I think mixed martial arts is more in line with my personality, simple and direct, without so many restrictions and constraints of rules.”

In the athletic spectrum, perhaps wrestlers possess the most innate power in their limbs. Almost every wrestling match is pedal-to-the-metal from start to finish, forcing its athletes to keep their pace and power throughout.

It seems Tang has developed natural power through his strong wrestling background. Add that to his incredible technique, and we have an absolute assassin who can send anyone into orbit at any moment.

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Tang Kai promises to stop Thanh Le at ONE 160

It seems like Tang intends to use his innate power to defeat world champion Thanh Le and take his belt handily at ONE 160. In fact, he made a bold prediction as to how he'll do it. In an interview with ONE Championship, the Chinese MMA star said:

“I think Thanh Le’s weakness is that he doesn’t fight. He was not hit in ONE Championship before, but when I meet him, I just have to punch him, and he will be defeated.”

Bold words from Tang indeed. One has to have the power of a hundred dynamites to be able to knock a world champion out with one punch. Aside from power, he also needs timing, speed, and proper placement. If Tang Kai does knock out Than Le with the first strike he lands, that will be unprecedented, to say the least.