Tang Kai returns home to hero's welcome of over 4,000 people in China

Chinese star Tang Kai couldn’t have asked for a better welcome when he returned to his hometown of Shaoyang in Hunan following his triumphant world title win over Thanh Le at ONE 160: Ok vs. Lee II this past August.

Around 4,000 fans welcomed the newly crowned ONE featherweight world champion in his homecoming.

Check out the Instagram post below:

Tang’s return was a special occasion, not just for his hometown, but for the entire nation as well, with the 26-year-old making history as the first male mixed martial arts world champion to come out of China.

ONE Championship posted on Instagram:

“The new ONE Featherweight World Champion receives a hero’s welcome in Shaoyang, as thousands of fans gathered for the homecoming of Tang Kai!”

The local government organized the welcome ceremony with droves of fans and supporters flocking to the city square. Tang then walked around his hometown, which allowed even more fans to greet their martial arts hero.

Indian fighter Kantharaj Agasa, who knocked out Thales Nakassu in ONE 160’s opener, couldn’t help but feel supportive of Tang upon his return.

“One of the best feelings is going home with the [world] championship belt, congratulations brother.”

Tang Kai has been an unstoppable force from the moment he arrived in ONE Championship in January 2019.

After stringing together six straight wins and embarking on a streak of three consecutive first-round knockouts, Tang headed into the biggest fight of his career when he challenged Le for featherweight gold at ONE 160.

Le and Tang, who are two of the best strikers in the organization, went headhunting during their match with neither fighter letting up on the offensive end.

In the end, it was Tang’s power and leg kicking strategy that prevailed to earn him a unanimous decision win and the belt.

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Tang Kai draws praise from Christian Lee for his performance

Tang Kai’s victory over Le at ONE 160 in Singapore was certainly a historic moment and one of ONE Championship’s top superstars quickly showered the Chinese striker with huge praise.

Christian Lee, the reigning ONE lightweight world champion, said in an interview with ONE Championship that Tang is well on his way to icon status in his home nation.

Lee said:

“Big props to Tang Kai. I can tell that he trained very hard leading up to the fight and he had a good strategy to beat Thanh. Thanh's an aggressive striker, he's a good kicker. So he took away a lot of his work by going after the calf in the legs early on in the fight. And that's what kind of gave him the points to win over the decision. So, big props to him. That's a huge moment for China, and I'm sure he's going to be a huge star there. So yeah, nothing bad to say about his performance, I'm happy for him.”