After recovering from injury, Tang Kai returned to unify the ONE Featherweight MMA World Championship against Thanh Le at ONE 166: Qatar.
He accomplished that feat with a third-round TKO against the Vietnamese-American to establish himself as the undisputed featherweight king in ONE Championship. According to Tang, the match went exactly as planned.
“The strategy was to give him pressure to break his rhythm – and then finish him,” Tang told ONE.
The first encounter between the two was an exhilarating five-round war. However, the decision left a bad taste in both participant’s mouths.
After sharpening his tools for the rematch, the Chinese superstar was thrilled to get a finish and credited his team with ensuring he was ready to unify the gold.
“I must thank my team and coaches because they helped me make tactics to finish the match. I felt really good to win a match by knockout that I’ve been waiting for over a year to have,” the ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion said.
“I showed my power this time to the people who doubted me before.”
Another American could be the next title defense for Tang. Garry Tonon is now one of the top contenders in the division and is coming off of a submission win over former divisional king Martin Nguyen.
Tang is unphased by the BJJ legend’s ground game and plans another big finish inside the Circle.
“He’s very good at jiu-jitsu, but his striking skill is weaker. I’m always ready to fight with any style, any person,” Tang stated.
“[His grappling] won’t affect me. I’m going to KO him.”
As contenders try to position themselves for a title shot, Tang does have a favorite he wants to see elevate themselves to the front of the pack. Tang wants to see Nguyen rise back to the top of the division so he can compete against the former two-division king.
“I really want to fight Martin Nguyen because he was the first two-division ONE World Champion. Although he’s been losing recently, I want him to win a couple of fights and challenge me, and I think it’s going to be a really good and impressive fight,” the Chinese star said.
Other names have also hit his radar, including Superbon Singha Mawynn, who will compete for the ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Title at ONE Friday Fights 58.
Superbon has teased entry into MMA, and Tang is offering a rude welcome for the Thai athlete if he chooses to cross over.
“I think Superbon is a bit arrogant because he says he can fight in MMA with a bit of practice. I’d have to let him know what MMA is, and I’ll let him sleep on the ground,” Tang said.