“I expected him to finish Thanh Le” - Fabricio Andrade was not surprised by Tang Kai’s world title win

ONE Championship bantamweight star Fabricio Andrade was surprised that Thanh Le was able to take Tang Kai to the limit in their ONE 160 co-main event bout in August. Le, who entered the bout as the ONE featherweight world champion, walked out empty-handed after 25 minutes despite a valiant effort.

On the flip side, Tang Kai made history by becoming the first Chinese-born male fighter to become a mixed martial arts world champion. Speaking to the South China Morning Post, ‘Wonder Boy’ revealed that he expected Tang Kai to finish Thanh Le in the later rounds of their co-main event clash.

“I was actually surprised that in the fourth and fifth rounds, Thanh Le was still dangerous in the fight. But I trained with Tang Kai, [so] I know that he’s a smart fighter and a very dangerous fighter as well. I expected him to finish Thanh Le in the later rounds, but I was actually surprised by Thanh Le being very dangerous in the fourth and fifth rounds.”

Tang Kai’s victory extended his winning streak to seven in a row, while simultaneously ending Thanh Le’s unbeaten run in the promotion at five.

Catch the full interview below:

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Fabricio Andrade gets his shot at gold at ONE on Prime Video 3 on October 23

After earning five straight wins in the circle, Fabricio Andrade will get his chance at ONE gold when he meets reigning bantamweight king John ‘Hands of Stone’ Lineker at ONE on Prime Video 3 in October.

In June, ‘Wonder Boy’ was intent on making his claim for a world title opportunity undeniable against Kwon Won Il at ONE 158. It only took Andrade 62 seconds to finish the South Korean with a brutal liver kick that immediately folded Kwon, forcing the referee to step in and call a stop to the action.

Fabricio Andrade called for a fight with Lineker during his post-fight interview. Now he’s just weeks away from the biggest opportunity of his MMA career.

For Lineker, it will be his first world title defense since knocking out former champion Bibiano Fernandes at the appropriately titled ONE: Lights Out in March. Like Andrade, ‘Hands of Stone’ is undefeated in the circle.