Thanh Le grateful ‘to be able to show the fans’ his evolved fighting game against Ilya Freymanov in Bangkok

ONE interim featherweight MMA world champion Thanh Le is thankful to be in a position to go back to the top of the division after his impressive showing in his last fight. He finished Russian Ilya Freymanov in the opening round by submission.

The 38-year-old American-Vietnamese fighter made short work of the erstwhile streaking Freymanov in their collision for the interim featherweight belt in October last year, putting the latter on a crafty heel hook to come up with the win. It was an outcome that Thanh Le said was a result of the effort he has put in to continue to evolve as a fighter, telling ONE Championship in an interview:

“You know, it felt great. It felt great. We know that I have that and it's not like a terrible surprise to anybody in my camp and my team. But it's cool to be able to show the fans like, hey, you know, the goal is to be.”

The same result is what the 50/50/Midcity MMA is angling for when he clashes anew with reigning ONE featherweight MMA world champion Tang Kai of China at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1.

It is a rematch of their first title clash in August 2022, where Tang Kai upended then-reigning king Thanh Le by unanimous decision.

ONE 166 is the first live on-ground event of ONE Championship in Qatar. It will take place at the Lusail Sports Arena and is available to Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America live and for free on Friday, March 1.

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Thanh Le looks to send Tang Kai to Sleepsville in unification bout

American-Vietnamese fighter Thanh Le seeks to regain the ONE featherweight MMA world title in a unification bout against reigning divisional king Tang Kai later this week. He intends to do it by going for an early finish and not leaving it at the hands of the judges.

The interim featherweight world champion touches gloves once again versus Tang Kai at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1 in a scheduled unification match. It is a rematch of their first title clash in August 2022, where the Chinese fighter dethroned Thanh Le by unanimous decision.

Thanh Le said he has learned from his first meet-up with the 27-year-old Sunkin International Fight Club standout and will go for a definitive finish when the opportunity presents itself.

He told ONE Championship in an interview:

“I’ll be honest with you. If we make it out of the first round, I’ll be surprised. He’s going to sleep, and he’s going to sleep early.”

ONE 166 is part of the promotion’s thrust to bring its world-class brand of martial arts action to more people in different parts of the world this year.