Tang Kai Unifies Featherweight MMA World Title With Third-Round TKO Of Thanh Le At ONE 166: Qatar
Tang Kai was patient and methodical as he looked for that one big shot to finally put Thanh Le away – and following eight grueling rounds of action across two World Title fights, he finally got it.
After taking the belt from Le via decision in December 2022, the Chinese superstar can now call himself the undisputed ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion once again.
This time, the divisional king returned from a long injury layoff and finished the interim titleholder via TKO in the third round of their World Title unification showdown at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1, the organization’s historic debut in the country.
It was a slow start for both men, with Tang struggling to cut the distance against the Vietnamese-American heavy hitter, who was content to sit back and counter any time the former overextended.
Though both strikers remained wary of each other’s power in the second, Tang started to find more success, cracking Le with a left hook, busting his nose open while landing big body punches when he managed to cut the distance.
In the third though, Tang’s persistence finally paid off. Looking more confident as Le started to show damage, the 28-year-old finally got his breakthrough when he feigned left before cracking Le with a huge right hook.
The 38-year-old crumbled to the ground, and after a few more punches, referee Olivier Coste waved off the bout, giving Tang victory and allowing him to unify the ONE Featherweight MMA World Title in ONE’s long-awaited return to the Middle East.
It was Tang’s 11th straight victory, as he improved to 19-2 overall with 15 knockouts and is now 8-0 in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
And after becoming the first male MMA World Champion from China in his previous win, he will now head back to Shaoyung with 26 pounds of gold and a US$50,000 performance bonus for his finish of Le.
