Thanh Le Gunning For Featherweight Title in 2020, Beginning With Conquest of Ryogo Takahashi

Vietnamese-American martial arts athlete Thanh Le brings to ONE Championship a penchant for scoring incredible knockouts, as seen in his first two appearances for the promotion, and he has shown no plans of stopping anytime soon.

The 34-year-old Le plans to notch another victory when he takes on Ryogo Takahashi on 10 January at ONE: A NEW TOMORROW from the Impact Arena in Bangkok.

Le made his debut under the ONE banner last May 2019 where his knee connected with Yusup Saadulaev’s head, knocking his opponent out in the first 12 seconds of the second round. In his second outing, Le finished former ONE Lightweight World Champion Kotetsu Boku with a right in under two minutes of the opening round.

Le currently holds a record of 10-2 with a hundred percent finishing rate. His recent victories have caught the attention of many as he continues the climb towards the division’s top spot.

Le is determined to keep on facing each and every athlete in the roster until he finally meets the reigning champ for a title bout

“I know guys are noticing,” Le said.

“I know everybody has got their eyes open, other contenders coming up the ladder. I want to fight everybody in the division. I want to fight every contender coming up the ladder. Whoever they have got, I want to fight them.”

Next on his list is Takahashi who is riding an eight-bout win streak into his second match with ONE. Just like Le, Takahashi is also a knockout artist as he has shown in his debut match with Keanu Subba in May of 2019.

With both heavy-hitters gunning for the title, Le is determined to keep on facing each and every athlete in the roster until he finally meets the reigning champ for a title bout.

“I want to rightfully work my way all the way up to the World Title, but if it is tomorrow, next week or five years from now, as soon as I get that shot against (ONE Featherweight World Champion) Martin Nguyen, I am going to put everything I can into the camp, and I am going to go out there and win that World Title,” Le said.

Le’s focus is on the task at hand, but he also makes sure to check out how the ONE Featherweight World Champion is progressing

Le’s focus is on the task at hand, but he also makes sure to check out how the ONE Featherweight World Champion is progressing.

Martin Nguyen had a successful 2019 where he was able to defend his title with a pair of second-round finishes over Narantungalag Jadambaa and Koyomi Matsushima.

The 50/50 and MidCity MMA representative acknowledges Nguyen’s skills and finishes. But Le also believes that if given the opportunity to face him inside the ONE Circle, “The Situ-Asian” will have trouble defending his title.

“I think it is bound to be an exciting fight,” Le concluded.

“Martin’s an exciting fighter, a skilled fighter, very experienced. There is a reason he has got the belt. I just think the matchup is really bad for him. We just play from such a distance that I do not think he has the tools for it and we do it better.”

“We are going to continue to use our feet and our footwork, and I think it is a little bit too much for him. It is just a skill set that not a lot of guys have and they are not used to dealing with it.”