“No matter how much I have sacrificed” - Tang Kai putting it all on the line against Thanh Le

After years of hard work and success, Tang Kai will finally get his moment to compete for an MMA world championship. On August 26th at ONE 160, Tang will step into the Circle against ONE featherweight world titleholder Thanh Le.

Undefeated in ONE, Le has scored five straight knockouts on his path to capturing featherweight gold. His second world title defense will be against a dangerous Chinese striker with an entire country cheering him on.

Speaking to ONE Championship just days before his world championship showdown, Tang Kai spoke about the years of sacrifice and time away from his family to make it to this point.

“No matter how much I have sacrificed, how much I have given, how many difficulties I have encountered, when I win the next match and win the World Championship, I will feel that all my sacrifices and contributions were worth it.”

When Tang steps into the Circle, he won’t be fighting just for himself. He will be fighting to provide a better life for his family. A family that he has largely been away from while working to become China’s first male MMA world champion.

“My family is my motivation because I want to make a better life for them. Since practicing fighting, I’ve sacrificed time with my family. I didn’t go home for New Year’s Eve, and I didn’t see my family for five or six years.”

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Tang Kai believes his hard work will pay off at ONE 160

Fighting as a professional since 2014, Tang Kai has earned an impressive record of 14-2 overall and is currently riding an undefeated streak inside the Circle of six straight fights, four of them by knockout. Tang’s success over the last eight years is a testament to his hard work and sacrifice to be one of the best in the world.

A win away from immortality, Tang believes that the hard work that he has put into his success will pay off in the ONE 160 co-main event.

“Training was really hard and injuries were inevitable, especially at the beginning of the career when I did not know how to protect myself. But because I loved it very much, after a long time I start enjoying it, no matter how difficult it was to persevere."

He added:

“I think everybody can achieve something with talent, and hard work is a talent. The most important thing is how much you put into it.”