Thanh Le confident he will claim ‘temporary strap’ to set up unification with Tang Kai

Fighting for an interim belt couldn’t have come at a better time for former ONE featherweight world champion Thanh Le.

The Vietnamese-American striker has waited over a year for a second chance reclaiming his belt against reigning ONE featherweight MMA world champion, Tang Kai.

But now, with the current king out of the world title picture due to an injury, Thanh Le obviously has a bigger fight than what he expected.

He is booked to face No. 3 ranked contender Ilya Freymanov at this Friday’s main event at ONE Fight Night 15 on Prime Video for the ONE interim featherweight MMA world championship belt at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

Fans across the world are enthusiastic about Le’s return, but no one is more excited than the former king himself, who’s confident about his chances of meeting Tang Kai again in a rematch.

Speaking to The Stands this week, he was quoted saying:

“If and when we do get this temporary strap around us that just guarantees us a rematch and that title shot. It’s all moving in the right direction.”

Le vs. Freymanov is expected to be an absolute blitzkrieg since they’re two of the world’s most prolific finishers in ONE Championship.

The Vietnamese-American holds an astonishing 100% finishing rate with five knockouts in six fights.

Meanwhile, 27-year-old Freymanov has a career record of 10 finishes, including two in ONE Championship against former double-world champion Martin Ngyuen by punches and Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg by way of rear-naked choke.

Watch both power strikers in action for the ONE interim featherweight world title this Friday, October 6 on U.S. primetime.