Thanh Le is confident he can beat Tang Kai, but gives his Chinese foe "the respect that he deserves"

Thanh Le will step into the circle at ONE 160 on August 26 for the second defense of his featherweight world title since defeating former champion Martin Nguyen at ONE: Inside The Matrix. On that night, he will face Chinese striker Tang Kai in the evening’s co-main event.

Thanh Le is currently coming off a successful defense against grappling sensation Garry Tonon at ONE: Lights Out in March. He put away ‘The Lion Killer’ in less than a minute with some brutal ground and pound. Now, he looks ahead to Kai who, like himself, is undefeated in the circle.

In an interview with From The Stands MMA, Le discussed his opponent and the similarities in style between the two. He said:

“He's a very good striker. He's got to be good on the feet. He kind of plays a version of my game. So it's very interesting to see that type of matchup and that type of skill set. And then being a striker myself and, obviously, to reach the levels that we've reached, you've got to be pretty confident in your skills and ability.”

On paper, both fighters enter ONE 160 with similar stats. Le is undefeated in the circle with five straight wins, all by way of knockout. Kai is also undefeated under the ONE banner with six straight victories; his last three coming by way of knockout.

Watch the full video below:

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Thanh Le believes he is one of the best strikers in MMA

Thanh Le has many reasons to be confident going into his co-main event showdown with Tang Kai. The Louisiana native has looked absolutely unstoppable in his five appearances with ONE Championship thus far, but faces a tough test in Kai, who is a power striker with an entire country standing behind him.

“I see myself as one of the best strikers in MMA, and then he's a striker in MMA. So you immediately want to put that in a category like, ‘Oh, he's a striker, I'm a striker. I think I'm one of the best in the world. So I'm definitely going to beat him.’ It doesn't work like that, striking doesn't work like that, and martial arts doesn’t work like that. It's a thin line, you got to play, and you got to kind of make sure that you're giving him the respect that he deserves.”

While Le stressed the importance of showing Kai respect in the circle, remaining confident in his own skills will be key to his success on August 26. He also added about being confident in himself to beat Kai:

“But not too much, because you got to believe in yourself and you got to have a high level of confidence. But I think I do that game pretty well.”