ONE world champion Tang Kai longing to put on a show for his fans in China: "I hope this will come true"
ONE featherweight MMA world champion Tang Kai wants to compete in a ONE Championship event in his homeland of China following a successful return to competition from injury.
The 27-year-old Shaoyang native became the undisputed featherweight MMA world champion by knocking out erstwhile interim titleholder Thanh Le in the third round of their unification fight at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1. The event was the first held in Qatar by ONE Championship.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Tang Kai shared that his recent win was for the people of China, who he hopes to perform in front of at some point in the future.
The Sunkin International Fight Club standout said:
"Qatar is beautiful and I was excited to fight on such an important card. I heard that many people in china watched this fight and it is my dream to fight on a ONE Championship card there. I hope this will come true one day soon."
ONE Championship has already held events in China a number of times but it has yet to set another one for this year.
Meanwhile, the win at ONE 166 was the eighth in as many matches for Tang Kai in ONE and second over Thanh Le, from whom he took the featherweight MMA gold in August 2022 by unanimous decision.
ONE 166: Qatar took place at the Lusail Sports Arena. Its replay is available for free to North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.
Tang Kai happy to have carried out a KO win over Thanh Le
Tang Kai waited for some time to get back to competition because of injury and was happy that he was able to deliver a victory in his return at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1.
The reigning ONE featherweight MMA world champion successfully retained his title after stopping erstwhile interim champion Thanh Le by TKO in the third round.
In an interview with ONE Championship after he became the undisputed featherweight MMA king, Tang Kai shared what took place in his latest feat and how the outcome was something he was looking to have while he was recuperating.
The Chinese world champion said:
"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 victory improved his professional MMA record to 19-2, the last eight wins all coming under ONE Championship.