Photos: Thanh Le's most epic knockouts

Thanh Le has been nothing but electric in his incredible run in ONE Championship.

The marauding striker holds a perfect 5-0 record in the organization with all five of those wins coming by way of knockout. Whether he’s facing a grappler or a fellow striker, all have fallen to Le’s ungodly power.

After running through his first three opponents, Le was granted a world title shot against ONE featherweight world champion Martin Nguyen.

Le knew that his match against Nguyen was the biggest fight of his career, and he promptly delivered with a gutsy third-round knockout at ONE: Inside the Matrix in October 2020.

Since his victory over Nguyen, Le has defended the ONE featherweight world title against submission savant Garry Tonon with their match ending in another knockout win.

With that said, here are Le’s greatest knockouts.

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#5. Thanh Le vs. Yusup Saadulaev (ONE: For Honor, May 2019)

Le knocks out Yusup Saadulaev. [Photo ONE Championship]

Thanh Le’s debut in ONE Championship almost ended in disaster when he took on seasoned grappler Yusup Saadulaev at ONE: For Honor in May 2019.

The first round saw Le defending against Saadulaev’s submission attempts with the Russian taking dominant position for the majority of the opening round.

The second round, however, lasted barely 10 seconds with Le needing just two kicks to end Saadulaev’s night early.

Thinking that Le was about to throw another roundhouse kick, Saadulaev dove in for a takedown attempt but that proved to be a bad decision. Le threw an explosive low kick that landed flush on the side of the Russian’s head, knocking him out cold 12 seconds into the second round.

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#4. Thanh Le vs. Ryogo Takahashi (ONE: A New Tomorrow, January 2020)

Le tags Ryogo Takahashi. [Photo ONE Championship]

There will always be levels to the striking game and Thanh Le’s conquest of Ryogo Takahashi at ONE: A New Tomorrow was proof of it.

Le displayed ultimate control during the match, especially when Takahashi seemed to have him figured out. Takahashi grabbed hold of Le’s attempted body kick and looked to have the Vietnamese-American star in a tough spot.

Upon freeing himself from Takahashi’s grasp, Le launched a booming right cross that wobbled the Japanese fighter. Sensing another highlight reel win, Le went on a rampage, launching a flurry of strikes that broke through Takahashi’s defense.

Takahashi was defenseless and dazed during Le’s onslaught, prompting referee Olivier Coste to put a stop to the match 2:51 into the first round.

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#3. Thanh Le vs. Kotetsu Boku (ONE: Dreams of Gold, August 2019)

Le lands a left hook to the face of Kotetsu Boku. [Photo ONE Championship]

Le was in just his second match for ONE Championship when he was matched up against former ONE lightweight world champion Kotetsu Boku.

The Japanese star was never someone to be trifled with, but Le waved off the danger and charged in all guns blazing. Le first tagged Boku with a cracking side kick, then followed it up with a short right uppercut that put the Japanese veteran down.

His win over Boku was his second in ONE Championship, and it ultimately became a precursor to what was set to be an illustrious career for Le.

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#2. Thanh Le vs. Garry Tonon (ONE: Lights Out, March 2022)

Le puts Garry Tonon to sleep. [Photo ONE Championship]

It’s a classic striker vs. grappler matchup and it was Thanh Le’s thunderous striking that did the trick against Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Garry Tonon.

Le was defending the ONE featherweight world title for the first time against Tonon in the headliner of ONE: Lights Out and the MidCity MMA fighter promptly took the event’s billing to heart.

Tonon found early success with a heel hook just over 30 seconds into the fight, but Le was able to escape the submission hold and get back to a standing position.

Le, whose right leg was still trapped, tagged Tonon with thunderous right hand bombs from top position that quickly sent the American grappler into the shadow realm.

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#1. Thanh Le vs. Martin Nguyen (ONE: Inside the Matrix, October 2020)

Le wobbles Martin Nguyen. [Photo ONE Championship]

Thanh Le was in the match of his life when he challenged Martin Nguyen for the ONE featherweight world championship at ONE: Inside the Matrix.

Both fighters were renowned for their immense power, and the two striking experts did not disappoint by putting on an electrifying match of the highest order.

Nguyen and Le traded bombs for three rounds but it was Le who proved to be the more potent striker.

Despite getting pinned near the Circle wall, Le snuck in a quick straight right that stunned Nguyen. Le now had that flash of momentum on his side and he knew he wasn’t about to let it slip away.

Le, sensing that a win was on the horizon, sent a maelstrom of punishment that broke not only Nguyen’s defense but ‘The Situ-Asian’ himself. Within moments, the fight was over. Le had ONE gold draped over his shoulders as Nguyen was being brought back to consciousness.