'%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)
Former undisputed ONE featherweight MMA world champion Thanh Le will co-headline ONE 166: Qatar this Friday in an attempt to unify his division's belts. Across the circle from him will be the man who took his throne, undisputed ONE featherweight MMA king Tang Kai.
ONE Championship will make its much-awaited live event debut in Qatar, with the Vietnamese-American former world champion clashing with his Chinese rival in a bout to rule the ridiculously competitive ONE featherweight MMA division.
It didn't take long for Thanh Le to bounce back from his loss to Tang back in 2022. In his next fight after the loss, Le swiftly defeated Ilya Freymanov for the interim strap. Despite being widely known as a KO artist, Le used his newly acquired jiu-jitsu skills to submit Freymanov in just over a minute.
Speaking to ONE Championship, Thanh Le reiterated how honing and building your skills - both existing and new - is paramount in making it big in the sport:
“I'm a jiu-jitsu black belt who put a lot of time in. That is something that I'm not just like good at and I'm really good at it. It's cool to be able to show that to the world and the fans because I feel like it's helpful to see with the young fighters and the fans that are watching. You have to understand, you have to build skills, you can't just go in there and be tough and gritty and really want it. Everybody really wants it at this level.”
Thanh Le promises rematch with Tang Kai will be a "different-looking fight"
Speaking on his upcoming rematch with the world champion, Thanh Le promised that he won't make the same mistakes he made in the first bout.
Furthermore, he cites that the long time in between their bouts gave him the space to acquire new lethal skills on top of his fight-ending KO power.
He told ONE:
“The rematch is long overdue. It shouldn’t have taken this long, but it did. The bad part for him is that we had more time to make sure that we sharpened up this game plan. It’s going to be a completely different-looking fight.”
ONE 166: Qatar will air free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
