“You can’t fight without knowing jiu-jitsu” - Thanh Le learned to grapple to avoid getting ‘mauled’

ONE Championship’s reigning featherweight world champion Thanh Le will meet dangerous Chinese striker and No.1-ranked contender Tang Kai in the co-main event of ONE 160 on August 26.

Following his first successful defense of the featherweight title against submission grappling star Garry Tonon, Le will look to keep his undefeated run intact against arguably the most powerful striker he has ever faced.

Speaking to ONE Championship ahead of the co-main event clash, Thanh Le discussed the necessity of learning jiu-jitsu in order to better protect himself in the circle as he works his way through a tough featherweight division.

“The last two fights that I’ve had in ONE were for the belt so I definitely hung my hat on my strong suit to try to capitalize there. And the last matchup was against one of the best grapplers on the planet [Tonon]. It might not be the best situation to dive into grappling with him the entire fight, right?”

Continuing on, Le said:

“You can’t fight without knowing jiu-jitsu – you’re just going to get mauled. [When I started, I was] like, ‘Okay, let’s learn this art, this thing that people want us to do.’ And then, just like I knew I would, I fell in love with it because it’s a wonderful martial art.”

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Expecting a striking battle, Thanh Le is ready to take things to the ground against Tang Kai

Since his debut in ONE Championship, Thanh Le has knocked out every man that has stood in front of him. Five straight victories, five straight knockouts. It has been an impressive run and the reigning world champion will look to continue that streak when he meets Tang Kai at ONE 160 on August 26.

Facing another elite striker, Le is more than ready for a war on the feet but is happy to take things to the ground should Kai decide to mix things up. Speaking to ONE Championship, Le said:

“Maybe we get a little grappling on this fight. Let’s see [Tang] throw one of those double-legs, and see how it ends up for him.”

While Le’s words sound like he is challenging the Chinese challenger to try and take him down, it’s hard to see this fight being anything more than two guys slinging leather until one of them hits the canvas.

Either way, Thanh Le is ready to take the fight wherever it needs to go and is confident in his ability to emerge victorious.

“Obviously, I’m a striker dude in the cage, but I’m a jiu-jitsu guy, too.”