“To be a God Mode character” – Thanh Le still chasing perfection at the tail-end of his career

At an age when most fighters are already thinking about hanging up their gloves, interim ONE featherweight MMA world champion Thanh Le is still on a quest for greatness.

The 38-year-old knockout artist, after all, had a late start to his MMA career and is making the most of it now that he has reached the pinnacle under the world’s largest martial arts organization.

Plus, it’s quite clear that Le’s skills have aged like fine wine. He has gotten deadlier by adding new wrinkles to his game each time.

The Vietnamese-American heavy-hitter will look to showcase new facets in his arsenal and settle an old grudge in the process, this coming Friday at ONE 166: Qatar.

Thanh Le will look to unify the 155-pound MMA belts by beating the division’s overlord Tang Kai in a five-round featherweight barnburner.

Speaking to ONE ahead of this highly-awaited rematch, Le let his lofty ambitions known.

“That's the goal is to be like a God Mode character, 10 out of 10 and everything, but that's not going to happen. I'm not a vampire. I can't live 100 years and build those skills. But I'm getting so much closer than I used to be. And that's the whole point. So no matter where the fight goes we ended up going to the ground and. There was no thinking. It was just it.”

While Thanh Le is certainly aware of his own mortality in the unforgiving fight game, it’s inspiring to see a supreme athlete hellbent on carving his legacy.

Thanh Le lauds Tang Kai’s perfect gameplan in their first encounter

After blitzing his first five opponents in ONE by way of spine-chilling knockouts, Thanh Le met his match at ONE 160 in 2022.

The 50/50 and MidCity MMA stalwart was ambushed by Tang Kai’s methodical approach. Le had no answer for the Chinese fighter’s assault on his body, resulting in a unanimous decision loss after the full 25 minutes.

Reflecting on the loss, Thanh Le told ONE:

“That was partly because of the things he was doing, so it’s not like I’m trying to take away from the things that he did well. I’m just trying to paint the true picture that it was a perfect storm for him to win that belt, and he ended up doing it.”

ONE 166: Qatar will emanate from Lusail Sports Arena on March 1. The full event is free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.