Thanh Le admits rematch with Tang Kai still ‘at the top of the list’ as interim title shot looms

A rematch with reigning ONE featherweight MMA world champion Tang Kai is at the top of Thanh Le’s wish list.

A year removed from his unanimous decision loss to Tang at ONE 160, Thanh Le will return to action this Friday night with an opportunity to once again claim 26 pounds of gold as he challenges Russian knockout artist Ilya Freymanov for the interim ONE featherweight MMA world championship.

With a win over Freymanov, Le will all but guarantee himself a rematch with Tang Kai, a fight that the former ONE world champion desperately wants.

“The good thing is that it's the same right, so [Tang Kai] still got the belt so being focused on the rematch means you're going to go get that or attempt to get that belt,” Le said in an interview with From The Stands. “So I guess I haven't separated it in my mind because it is one piece yeah. But this does a little bit of the separation right because both things are important to me, but definitely, the rematch would be at the top of the list.”

Watch the full interview below:

Tang Kai returned to China receiving a hero’s welcome following his impressive five-round performance against Thanh Le in August 2022, but he has since failed to defend the title, prompting the promotion to institute an interim world title in his absence.

Having held the title previously and sitting as the No. 1 ranked fighter in the division, Thanh Le’s role in the interim world title fight on Friday night makes perfect sense. But what about Ilya Freymanov?

The Russian knockout artist goes into his first title opportunity with back-to-back first-round finishes under the ONE banner. That on top of nine KOs in 12 career wins has practically guaranteed that the fireworks will fly when he steps inside the circle with a fighter like Thanh Le.

Will Freymanov score the biggest win of his combat sports career this Friday night, or will Thanh Le once again climb to the top of the featherweight division and claim ONE Championship gold?

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE Fight Night 15 live and for free in U.S. primetime on October 6.