“It's such a great fanbase” - Thanh Le hopes to win new Chinese fans after beating Tang Kai

Thanh Le wants to win over a few of Tang Kai’s Chinese fans in his next world title defense at ONE 160.

China has produced massive killers in the sport, like ONE strawweight world champion Xiong Jing Nan, as well as former MMA world champion Zhang Weili in North America. Since their rise, the Chinese fan base has grown immensely.

In a media conference call last month, Le talked about the prospect of picking up new Chinese fans after their fight. Asked by SCMP MMA if that is still something he intends to do, the Louisiana native said:

“Absolutely, absolutely. I don't have a ton of exposure and a ton of reach with the Chinese fans, and they're great. They're great people, a great country, great fans. So I'd love to be able to put on a show good enough to where, you know, if your hometown guy doesn't win, and it doesn't play out the way you want it to play out because that's what I'm banking on, that you still respect the fight, you still respect the skills that I bring in, you still enjoy the show that we put on, you still enjoy the type of fight that I bring to the table."

Le added:

"I've done that in a few different countries. And it's been awesome to see the pickup of fans with the exposure that ONE brings. This is just another country we're trying to do that in since it's such a great fanbase.”

Catch the full interview below:

The Vietnamese-American fighter is on a tear with five-straight knockout wins. His most recent title defense against jiu-jitsu icon Garry Tonon at ONE: Lights Out this year lasted only 56 seconds.

The 36-year-old will bring the same level of energy and competitiveness when he faces Tang Kai on August 26, hopefully earning the respect of Tang’s loyal supporters in the process.

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Rewatch Thanh Le’s longest MMA slugfest with Australian powerhouse Martin Nguyen

One of Thanh Le’s longest fights in ONE was with former featherweight world champion Martin Nguyen in 2020. Even then, Le had fans at the edge of their seats the entire time.

After an epic exchange on the feet in the first two rounds, the third looked like it was heading for a quick finish. Nguyen controlled the early part of the round, connecting with several shots to Le that looked to have the Vietnamese-American in trouble.

However, Nguyen’s aggressiveness proved to be his downfall, as Le found an opening that staggered his rival.

They scrambled on the ground for a few seconds before Le sealed the deal with a couple more punches as the former world champion tried to get up on his feet.

Thanh Le handed ‘The Situ-Asian’ the first TKO loss of his career, while taking the ONE featherweight world title in the process.