MMA World Reacts as 26-Year-Old Shows ‘The Power of Chinese Fighters to the World’ to Become the First Ever-Chinese Male World Champion at ONE 160

All the finishes and $50K bonuses from ONE CEO & Chairman Chatri Sityodtong ahead of the ONE 160 co-main set up the featherweight championship bout to be a massive contest. And the featherweights lived up to expectations. Thanh Le and Tang Kai put up a phenomenal bout. However, the composure of the Chinese fighter earned him the belt.

Kai was aiming to be the first male fighter to win an MMA world championship in ONE Championship. The Dragon Gym representative had a 6-0 MMA record in ONE before the bout.

The Chinese had a 100% takedown defense in The Home of Martial Art. Besides, he had 12 knockouts in his 14 wins.

The bout started with Tang Kai and Thanh Le feeling each other out. But the feel-out process ended quickly as Kai utilized the lower attacks to prime effect. The first round was competitive, but Kai appeared to take the lead in the second with constant leg kicks and accumulated damage on the champion’s left leg.

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The 36-year-old switched stances and tried to take the bout to the canvas, but nothing was going to stop the 26-year-old from his dream to become the first Chinese male ONE champion.

MMA fans react to ONE 160 co-main event

Fight fans rolled their fingers on Twitter to react to the bout and a definitive performance from Tang Kai.

Thanh Le and Tang Kai had a big animosity coming into the contest

The Vietnamese-American athlete came into the bout with an undefeated ONE Championship run. Besides, Thanh Le never saw the judges’ scorecard as he finished all his bouts with spectacular finishes.

Even the Chinese fighter was pumped to perform in a championship bout. “I hope to make history,” Tang Kai had announced before the fight. “And show the power of Chinese fighters to the world.”

Both fighters had a lot of heat in the pre-fight build-up. The Chinese athlete promised to ‘retire’ Le. Whereas, the featherweight champion believed Kai got into the championship picture because of his trash talk.

However, Kai proved with his performance, he deserved to be in that position. And now, he is the champion in the featherweight division.

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What do you make of the featherweight championship bout between Thanh Le and Tang Kai at ONE 160? Share your views in the comments section.