Thanh Le ready to slay ‘big bad monster’ Ilya Freymanov

Former ONE featherweight MMA world champion and current no.1-ranked featherweight MMA contender Thanh Le is on the comeback trail after losing his belt to Chinese star Tang Kai a year ago.

He is willing to go to any means to get it back, which is why when Le enters the Circle this weekend, he has no qualms taking on a very dangerous rising star in the promotion.

Le is set to face no.3-ranked featherweight MMA contender Ilya Freymanov of Russia in the main event of ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov on Prime Video. The event broadcasts live from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday, October 6th.

Freymanov is one of the fastest rising stars in ONE Championship, and is a bonafide finisher. Le understands the threat the Russian star poses, and is more than willing to meet the challenge head on.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Le shared his thoughts on Freymanov, and how it inspires him to be the best he can be.

The Vietnamese-American said:

“It's always cool when you plan he's the big, bad, whatever, ‘monster’ and when you step in the ring you realize that that's not the case. That you're really, really good too, and you're one of the best in the world and things start to play out really well for you in that fight round by round. From weigh-in and staring at the man's eyes, it's really cool.”

Le doesn’t like to think of himself as the favorite heading into fights, and always tries to come to fight with an underdog mentality. He added:

“Obviously, that's probably about as far as it goes, but the whole big bad versus the little underdog guy, that's always cool because that's how I plan for opponents. And, for me, when I'm planning, I don't have much speed, I don't have much power. I've got to fight like this because I'm making up for certain things that this guy will have.

But I know in the back of my head and I know in actuality I have those things. So I get to plan like I'm a weak or slower person and fight the right way in that manner. But I get to add those attributes on top of it and that's why I'm so successful.”

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action live and absolutely free on Amazon Prime Video.