“You’ve gotta roll with the punches” – Thanh Le reflects on losing world title in his first meeting with Tang Kai

Former undisputed ONE featherweight MMA world champion Thanh Le is bound for a unification bout against the man who took his belt from him, Tang Kai, at ONE 166: Qatar. On Friday, March 1, ONE Championship will make its way to the Middle East for the first time. One of the many world title bouts of the evening will be Tang Kai vs Thanh Le to unify the undisputed and interim ONE featherweight MMA belts.

Le and Tang first locked horns at ONE 160 back in August 2022 in which Tang soundly won via a unanimous decision. Thanh Le bounced back a year later by swiftly submitting Ilya Freymanov at ONE Fight Night 15 for the interim strap.

Speaking to ONE Championship, the Vietnamese-American former undisputed king shared his mindset about losing to Tang:

“Those things happen sometimes, and you’ve gotta roll with the punches. You’ve gotta get better. And that’s what I did.”

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Thanh Le refuses to see any other challenge until Tang Kai business is finished

Speaking further into his upcoming rematch with the world champion, Le admitted that he does not see any other potential opponent beyond Tang Kai. As it happens, the Taekwondo specialist wants to keep his focus solely on getting back at Kai and regaining his undisputed belt.

He told ONE:

“It’s something that I haven’t thought about because Tang is so important to me, and I’m not in a position to call any shots because I need to get my belt back.”

Not looking past a dangerous world champion like Tang Kai is smart for any fighter who is about to face him. Having already lost to the Chinese striker, Le is wise not to veer his focus away from getting his redemption on March 1.

Watch Thanh Le attempt to redeem himself and regain his throne from Tang Kai at ONE 166: Qatar, which will air live and free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.