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Thanh Le is hopeful that his opponent will attempt to close the show inside the distance at ONE 166: Qatar in their high stakes rematch.
The former featherweight world champion and interim titleholder is set to face the man that beat him for the gold, Tang Kai, on March 1 at the Lusail Sports Arena on ONE’s debut show in Qatar.
Their first meeting back at ONE 160 saw the challenger emerge victorious after strictly sticking to a smart game plan that took away some of the danger in his opponent’s finishing prowess.
With both men aiming to end this fight inside the distance this time around, Thanh Le hopes that his former foe looks to up the pace and output this time around so that he can capitalize.
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Le is one of the best finishers on the entire roster and he only needs that one opening to get his hand raised.
The interim champion told Sportskeeda MMA during a fight week interview that seeing his opponent come forward to land strikes would be his ideal scenario:
“If he comes for the knockout, it's going to be beautiful, which means he's got a step to me which means he's going to meet my fists.”
Watch the full interview below:
Thanh Le is not the kind of fighter that promises a finish and fails to deliver
Throughout his entire pro and amateur career, Thanh Le has been to a decision just one time and that was his first meeting with Tang Kai.
When Le says he is going to get a finish, it’s usually a solid bet to believe him and this was certainly the case in his last fight where he won the interim title.
It was the submission skills that he brings to the table that got the job done against Ilya Freymanov at ONE Fight Night 15 rather than his knockout prowess.
Le won’t be too concerned about what method he uses to put his opponent away on March 1 but avenging this loss inside the distance is his primary focus.
ONE 166: Qatar will air live and free via Prime Video for North American viewers with an active subscription on March 1.
