Thanh Le admits he fought his nerves after starting MMA at 28: “I had doubts”

Thanh Le reflected on his doubts after competing in MMA for the first time at an older age than most other high-level fighters.

Le made his professional MMA debut in November 2013 at 28. Most world champions tend to start competing at a younger age, but the Vietnamese-American had a different path to success. Since then, he’s established an overall record of 13-3, including a 5-1 run in ONE Championship.

Before fighting on Friday, October 6, the former ONE featherweight MMA world champion participated in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session. One fan asked Thanh Le the following question:

“Your first MMA bout was in 2013 at the age of 28, which most people would consider to be quite late in starting MMA. Did you have any doubts on succeeding in MMA having started so late and having lost your first pro fight?”

Thanh Le responded by saying:

“Yeah absolutely I had doubts… but my decision to commit, once I made it, wasn’t going to be questioned. I knew once I committed I truly believed I could be good enough to be one of the best.”

Le continued:

“Also, it WAS a pretty late start, but I had almost 25 years of Martial arts experience at the time… that experience has carried me through my career because Taekwondo taught me how to learn skills, how to train, how to get better at things quickly and how to recognize when someone is good at what they do. That set me up to learn from the best guys in the business and absorb info like a sponge.”

Reddit comments

Thanh Le won his first five fights under the ONE banner, all inside the distance, including two world title wins. In August 2022, the Vietnamese-American suffered his first promotional loss when Tang Kai dethroned him of the ONE featherweight MMA title.

On October 6, U.S. primetime, Le looks to bounce back by regaining ONE gold. The 38-year-old will take on Ilya Fremanov in the ONE Fight Night 15 main event, with the interim featherweight MMA world title up for grabs.

On the other side, Freymanov is 2-0 since joining ONE, and he plans to continue building momentum by earning a part of Tang’s throne.

Thanh Le vs. Ilya Freymanov is one of many intriguing matchups taking place inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on Friday. The entire ONE Fight Night 15 event can be seen live and for free by North American viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.