ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Tang Kai’s emphatic return at ONE 166: Qatar earlier this month established him as top dog of the stacked division.
After a 19-month hiatus, there were questions surrounding the Chinese superstar’s ability to get back to where he was. But on Friday, 1st March, he left no one in doubt by knocking out Thanh Le in the third frame of their World Title unification bout.
For Tang, that was the plan all along. After going five rounds with Le at ONE 160 in August 2022 and claiming the divisional strap by decision, he wanted to make an emphatic statement the second time.
“The strategy was to give him pressure to break his rhythm – and then finish him,” the featherweight MMA king said.
“I must thank my team and coaches because they helped me make tactics to finish the match. I felt really good to win a match by knockout that I’ve been waiting for over a year to have.”
With Tang’s pivotal rematch with Le firmly in the books, the 28-year-old must now shift his focus to the next lot of contenders waiting in the wings, and he believes former World Title challenger and #2-ranked contender Garry Tonon is top of the list.
Since his unsuccessful championship campaign in 2022, the American veteran has amassed a three-fight winning streak, with all victories coming via submission within the distance.
Tonon has certainly returned to his finest form, but Tang isn’t fazed by “The Lion Killer’s” repertoire.
“He’s very good at jiu-jitsu, but his striking skill is weaker. I’m always ready to fight with any style, any person,” Tang said.
“[His grappling] won’t affect me. I’m going to KO him.”
