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To ONE interim featherweight MMA world champion Thanh Le, being the bearer of the provisional crown does not hold any significance.
However, the 50/50 and MidCity MMA affiliate sees it as a golden ticket to right his mistakes as he steps into a world title unification war against divisional king Tang Kai at ONE 166: Qatar inside the Lusail Sports Arena.
When the pair went toe-to-toe in August 2022 at ONE 160, the Chinese powerhouse dished out a striking clinic to swap positions with Le at the top of the stacked division.
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Thanh Le does not plan to let Kai reign at the top for long, though.
He told Sportskeeda MMA:
[My goal in this is to] less so unify the belts, more so get my belt back, that is mine. We have an unfinished fight. So, that interim title looks good on the shelf, but it's not the one. I need mine back.”
Watch the full interview here:
Since he scooped 26 pounds of gold with an epic round-three KO of Martin Nguyen, the 38-year-old defended his prized possession against Garry Tonon with another highlight-reel finish.
Unfortunately, he came up short in his second assignment as a ONE world champion to Kai inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Thanh Le’s keys to victory versus Tang Kai
With surefire confidence, Thanh Le believes he is on the cusp of regaining his strap at ONE 166: Qatar.
However, he does need to check a couple of things off his list if he were to stand any chance of avenging his only promotional defeat to Kai.
The American-Vietnamese martial artist has incredible knockout power on the feet, and he can rely on his trademark tools to get him across the finish line or hurt Kai as long as the action continues.
But if that fails to unsettle the 27-year-old out of Sunkin International Fight Club, Thanh Le must switch levels and give his dance partner a taste of his submission repertoire.
North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE 166: Qatar card live and for free this Friday, March 1.
