Tang Kai reflects on historic ONE world title win, eyes Superbon next

Tang Kai made history on Friday in Singapore when he defeated Thanh Le to become the first male Chinese MMA world champion in history.

The hard-hitting striker dominated the majority of their five-round battle to claim the ONE featherweight world title in the co-main event of “ONE 160: Ok vs. Lee II.”

Although Le had some brief moments of success, it was Tang’s night from start to finish. And after so much effort and sacrifice over the years, he is filled with pride – for himself and his country.

“I feel very lucky,” the 26-year-old said afterward. “I feel honored to be the man. I feel so proud of myself and so proud of China.”

In a clear-cut unanimous decision victory, Tang used punishing leg kicks to batter Le’s thighs and limit his ability to launch offense in return.

It was a different type of strategy for the Sunkin International Fight Club representative, who’s known as a ferocious puncher and has earned most of his recent wins with concussive boxing combinations.

In fact, he did not expect Le to withstand his punching power, but when the defending champ’s chin held up, he showcased impressive versatility and fight IQ to claim the belt.

“Using the low kick wasn’t my original plan,” Tang said. “My original plan was to KO him with a punch, but during the fight I felt how tough he was, so I changed my plan accordingly.

“I respect (Thanh Le) a lot. Even though he took a lot of shots from me, he was still standing. I couldn’t finish him. I have tons of respect for him.”

Tang Kai Wants Kickboxing Titleholder In Next Fight

Now standing atop the featherweight MMA division, Tang envisions a long reign ahead of him.

The newly crowned world champion is riding a sensational 10-fight winning streak – including a 7-0 record in ONE Championship – and he can’t see anything getting in the way of his momentum.

“I believe I’ll keep winning,” Tang said. “I’m only 26 years old. Look at Thanh Le, he’s 36 years old, so I believe I have a long way to go as champ.”

Tang took out many of the top contenders on his road to the top, and although there are fresh faces to challenge him, the surging knockout artist is eying an elite competitor from outside ONE’s mixed martial arts ranks.

That man is ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon Singha Mawynn, who’s dominated the best standup specialists on the planet since joining the organization.

After proving himself as the featherweight MMA division’s leading striker, Tang feels ready to test his skills against the Thai superstar.

“I want to fight Superbon next,” Tang added. “I saw on his social media that he wants to try MMA. Even if it’s in a mixed-rules bout like (Demetrious Johnson) and Rodtang.”

This story first published at ONEFC.com.