FREE FULL FIGHT: Natural striker Thanh Le pulls off quick submission over Ilya Freymanov for interim featherweight MMA gold

Featherweight knockout artist Thanh Le is hours away from an opportunity to once again be an undisputed ONE world champion.

This Friday, March 1, Le returns to the Circle as ONE Championship heads to Qatar for a massive ONE 166 card. In the co-main event of the evening, current interim featherweight MMA world titleholder Thanh Le will look to trade in his temporary belt for undisputed gold when he meets the reigning and defending featherweight MMA king, Tang Kai.

The pair previously met at ONE 160 back in August 2022. That night, Tang scored a unanimous decision victory to dethrone the Vietnamese-American. Since then, Le has established himself as the division’s interim king with a stunning 62-second submission victory over Russian standout Ilya Freymanov in October.

“Before interim titleholder Thanh Le rematches reigning king Tang Kai in a ONE Featherweight MMA World Title unification bout at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1, relive his shocking heel hook submission of Russian phenom Ilya Freymanov to capture the interim belt in 2023!”

ONE 166 is ONE Championship’s first on-site event in Qatar, and the card will transpire at Lusail Sports Arena.

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Will Thanh Le flex his ground game against the heavy-hitting Tang Kai at ONE 166?

Before coming up short against Tang Kai, Thanh Le was a perfect 5-0 under the ONE Championship banner, with all of his victories coming by way of knockout. Since then, Le has evolved his ground game, as seen in his quick finish of Freymanov last year. Could we see him break out his submission skills against a fighter who is equally talented on the feet?

Tang Kai goes into his first world title defense with an unblemished 7-0 record inside the Circle with four of those wins coming by way of KO. Though he was not able to score a finish against Le in their first meeting, the threat of his power was more than enough to keep Le at bay throughout the five-round affair.

How do you see things playing out in one of the year’s most anticipated rematches?

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE 166: Qatar live and for free on Friday, March 1.