Thanh Le surprised everyone at ONE Fight Night 15 on October 6. The KO artist needed only 62 seconds to get his hand raised in Bangkok, Thailand, against Ilya Freymanov. However, this time, he did it by submission.
The victory netted Le the ONE Interim Featherweight MMA World Championship. More importantly for the New Orleans native, it sets him up for a unification match against Tang Kai. Showing his finishing abilities on the mat only serves to give more reason that the rematch will be explosive.
“It was nice to be able to feel that challenge, be able to step up and perform the way I did. Obviously, on the business side of things, it’s nice to get the interim belt, but you guys know me better than that. It’s not about having a little piece of gold. It’s about getting my belt back from Tang Kai,” Le told ONE Championship.
Submitting Freymanov was more validation for Le. After years of training alongside Ryan Hall, the 38-year-old finally got to show the world what he is capable of once the action hits the mat. After the close of ONE Fight Night 15, Le was thankful for what Hall had taught him.
“I’ve got a ton of great coaches around me, but the spotlight is on, obviously, 50/50 and my buddy Ryan Hall, who’s here cornering me. A friend and coach, you know, all of that stuff. But that’s the position. I mean, I feel like I’m starting to get better and better in that position and very confident in those areas, and who better to learn it from than ‘The Man’ from it,” Le stated.
Le’s enthusiasm for the finish was evident in the post-match celebration. The talented MidCity MMA representative jumped on the ropes, collected his new gold belt, and even did a confetti angel in the middle of the ring.
It was a pure celebration of the hard work it took to get back to the top of the featherweight mountain. The loss to Tang ate away at the American, and putting away Freymanov in epic fashion was another highlight for his reel. Whether KO or submission, Le proved he is one of the most exciting athletes in the world.
“We were just talking about that backstage, actually. I still like hitting people. That’s a really good feeling. You know, it comes from my roots and my taekwondo background, but man, it really feels good to rip a limb off. Obviously, my thoughts and my heart goes to Ilya. I hope he heals quick and gets back in there, and knocks a bunch of people out. But personally and selfishly, that s–t felt good too,” the 38-year-old said.
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With that win already in his rearview mirror, Le is focused on his Chinese rival. In their prior meeting, Le and Tang went the full five rounds, and it still bothers the Louisianan that he couldn’t close the show with a finish. In his eyes, the rematch is just the start of Round 6.
“So we’ll start working towards the Tang Kai rematch, so I’m getting my actual belt back and do Round 6 since we’ve got an ugly, disgusting, nasty, unfinished fight that we’ve got to finish. But yeah, I’m excited to get back in there, and he’s obviously very, very good. The fight’s going to look a little differently, so we’ll let you see when the time comes,” Le said.
