Thanh Le Vows To Dethrone Tang Kai At ONE 166: Qatar

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Former ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Thanh Le's didn't reign over the weight class as long as he hoped for. But after going back to the drawing board and picking up the division's interim crown, the Vietnamese-American promises to unify the gold at ONE 166: Qatar.

Le rematches ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Tang Kai in the co-main event this Friday, 1 March, at Lusail Sports Arena. Reflecting on their first encounter at ONE 160 in August 2022, Le has recognized the error of his ways.

Becoming World Champion is one thing. Remaining king is a whole other kettle of fish. The occasion affected Le's performance, but Le has worked on his mental strength ever since. On any other night, the knockout artist feels he would have had Tang's number.

"He needed me not to connect cleanly. That didn't happen very well. He needed to get up on the scorecards. That happened and then I made terrible decisions. You don't see me make an attack process that you don't see me do ever. Opening up too big, throwing heavy wide shots. Things that I just don't do," Le said.

"So if we would have run it back immediately, in my honest opinion and how I truly feel in my heart, we just would have gone right back to reset and the fight would have played out differently. I feel like I would have beaten him."

Part of Le's journey back to World Title contention warranted a battle with fellow top contender Ilya Freymanov in the main event of ONE Fight Night 15 last October. And with Tang's injuries continuing to mount up, an interim World Title was up for grabs.

The spotlight was on the 38-year-old once more, and he exceeded expectations in the hot seat. Le is known for his punching prowess, but he pulled a slick heel-hook submission out the bag to tap his Russian counterpart in the opening frame and capture the interim crown.

The submission showcased the depth of the veteran's abilities against a decorated grappler. The victory restored Le with plenty of confidence. And the former king feels he'll be too much for Tang to handle en route to reclaiming the ONE Featherweight MMA World Title.

"I was happy with the fight. He came out a little more, a little less aggressive than I thought he was going to. And then obviously the fight was quick, so there's not like a ton to talk about," Le said.

"But we had a lot of time to get a nice fight in between, to sharpen a bunch of skills, get some specific game plan stuff implemented. And part of the things that I know I can't mess up in any way, you know, I can't really can't mess those things up because we've done them so much now. [Tang's] in trouble, man. He's in trouble this time."