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Former ONE featherweight world champion Thanh Le is one of the most lethal strikers the sport has ever seen. And yet, the Vietnamese-American Taekwondo specialist is not opposed to having a goof once in a while. In fact, he does it a lot at his local gym in Metairie, Louisiana.
In a recent video posted by ONE Championship, we saw Thanh Le speaking to the camera inviting people to attend his "Level 1" MMA class at his gym. What's funny is how Le looked very stoic and formal while the guys in the background were doing some insane backflips and stunts that were clearly not "Level 1". They might not even be on a level that's effective in MMA.
Here's the video:
"“Level 1 class” 😂 @thanhlemma @the_asian_cajun"
Though it was obviously a joke and was made to poke fun at gym culture, you cannot deny the magnetic appeal of the video from a marketing standpoint. In advertising, using humor to garner attention has been a time-tested technique. Thanh Le is not just an amazing fighter, he is a highly effective marketer as well.
After losing world title last year, Thanh Le already preparing for in-ring return
At ONE 160 in August 2022, Thanh Le lost his ONE featherweight world title to China's Tang Kai in a highly-competitive five-round war. Although he was outclassed by his challenger, the Vietnamese-American fighter is not wasting time getting back to the drawing board and making his return.
In an interview with FTS MMA on YouTube, Le spoke about his plans on returning to action and getting the belt back on his waist:
"Oh, we're already talking about matchups, rematches, and all these things, going back and forth. There's no rest. We're back on this. We got limited in time in this game. So we got to get back in there and get this belt back and start defending that thing."
At an age of 37, Le is already considered to be on the older side of the MMA spectrum. Still, he beats the heart of a true champion by being humble enough to work on his flaws and mistakes. He is also wise enough to understand that the best way to get over a loss is to keep working and pushing forward. Here's to hoping that he makes a triumphant return to the circle soon.
Watch the full interview here:
