“A lot of the same strengths” - Thanh Le says Tang Kai has a similar style, but he is the "better" fighter

ONE featherweight world champion Thanh Le steps into the circle on August 26 to defend his crown against No. 1-ranked contender Tang Kai.

Since his shocking victory over fan favorite Martin Nguyen at ONE: Into the Matrix in October 2020, Le has had one successful defense, which came against grappling wizard Garry Tonon.

It took Thanh Le only 56 seconds to dispatch ‘The Lion Killer’ with some well placed hammer fists. He now faces dangerous Chinese striker Tang Kai, who is very much his doppleganger in the circle.

While speaking to ONE Championship, Le discussed the upcoming bout and the similarities between himself and Tang, but reiterated that he was superior to his counterpart.

“[Tang] has a lot of the same strengths I do. He’s sharp. His movement is good and developed. His evasiveness is pretty good when he wants to be slick. He’ll engage when he thinks he has the advantage and he’ll bail when he thinks he is on even footing or in a negative position. So some of the things that I do well, he does well also, but I do them better.”

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Age could play a factor in Thanh Le’s showdown with the younger Tang Kai

One way the two fighters are vastly different is in age, but not necessarily in experience.

At 26 years old, Tang is unbeaten in the circle with six wins out of 16 in his MMA career. Le is 10 years Tang’s elder and has 15 MMA bouts to his record. With similar experience and offsetting styles, their ONE 160 showdown could come down to whose cardio holds up in the later rounds.

Though it’s not a forgone conclusion, it would be reasonable to believe Tang Kai’s cardio will outlast Le’s given the age difference. The age difference is something Tang has pointed out previously while speaking at a ONE 160 virtual media event.

“I respect him a lot, but he’s also 36 years old. I think he should really be considering retirement,” Tang said. “This could be his retirement fight maybe. He has a beautiful family – after this one, he should go back to them and have a normal life."

Thanh Le didn’t necessarily disagree with Tang’s statement, but the featherweight king decided to turn the other cheek, opting to do his talking in the circle.

“On paper I’m a little older, slower, might not be able to train as much,” said Le. “I’ve been doing this so long maybe my body hurts. But we’ll step into the ring and we’ll see how slow and how things come out this body.”