“He's doing it because he cares” - Thanh Le wants to follow Dustin Poirier’s lead in helping his community

ONE featherweight world champion Thanh Le believes that as his stature rises in martial arts, so does his ability to help others. While there are people that boast about everything that they do, Le believes he’d rather be like UFC fighter Dustin Poirier.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Le shared his admiration for the former UFC interim lightweight champion:

“I'd love to be able to put myself in a position very similar to how Dustin's [Poirier] done such great things. Dustin has done such great things with Louisiana communities and helping his own town and things like that with the charities that he's put together.”

Poirier has been known to use his influence to raise money for several causes, especially for his local community in his home state of Louisiana. In 2018, ‘The Diamond’ and his wife founded the Good Fight Foundation as an avenue to help communities in need.

Le believes in Poirier’s sincerity in helping others, which is something he wants to emulate in the future as his potential to earn increases:

“He's not doing that for, ‘Hey, look at me, I'm Dustin. I'm a big-time fighter. And aren't I cool, because I'm helping all these people out?’ He's doing it because he cares. And he's trying to help those people out. I would love to be able to put myself in a position like that, with the exposure that I have and the access to these outlets with the funds that I'll be getting to kind of put some money towards that.”

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Thanh Le to defend his crown against Garry Tonon at ONE: Lights Out

Thanh Le will get a chance to show the world how much he deserves his place among the best in the sport at ONE: Lights Out. The event, set for March 11, will pit him against one of the top grapplers in the world, Garry Tonon.

Tonon transitioned to MMA in 2018 to great success, rising through the ranks by racking up six straight victories. He’s the current No.2-ranked featherweight and is looking to claim his first world title outside of grappling.

Meanwhile, the bout will mark Thanh Le’s first world title defense since ending Martin Nguyen’s dominant reign over the division. He holds a career 12-2 record, with four straight victories in the Circle.

Winning and maintaining his place atop the division will certainly add to his credibility as a fighter. As his legend as a fighter goes, so does his earning power and influence – things that would be essential in helping him do more for his community.