"Thanh Le was the only one avoiding the fight" — Fabricio Andrade says Tang Kai didn't deserve yellow card in Qatar rematch
ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Fabricio Andrade is bewildered by the referee's decision to issue his training partner Tang Kai a yellow card during his duel against Thanh Le at ONE 166: Qatar.
The early goings of their contest inside the Lusail Sports Arena saw both men tread with caution as they refused to budge into one another's striking dexterity and knockout power.
Though there were times when the action seemed amiss, Tang Kai stands by his idea that he was constantly on the front foot looking for a finish before referee Olivier Coste penalized both men with a yellow card for lack of activity.
'Wonder Boy' shares the same sentiment. In a recent interview with Sportskeeda MMA, the Brazilian martial artist explained why the Chinese megastar shouldn't have been handed the yellow card for inactivity.
The Evolve MMA and Tiger Muay Thai narrated:
"He [Thanh Le] was forced to walk back a lot. He wasn't throwing a lot. The referee gave them both a yellow card, but in my opinion, I think Thanh Le was the only one avoiding the fight."
Fabricio Andrade continued:
"I felt like Tang Kai was looking for the fight. He was pressuring, he was going forward, he was trying to throw more."
Despite the unfortunate occurence, Tang Kai went on to close out the show with a looping right hand and a barrage of strikes to unify the featherweight MMA crown on March 1.
It was a perfect ending for the Sunkin International Fight Club affiliate, who was forced to sit out of 2023 due to a spell of injuries. His second win over the American-Vietnamese athlete bumped his promotional resume to a perfect 8-0.
Fabricio Andrade enjoyed Anatoly Malykhin's statement win in Qatar
Fabricio Andrade watched the historic event, which marked ONE Championship's debut in the country, inside the Lusail Sports Arena closely, as two of his buddies attempted to complete their dominance atop their respective divisions.
Alongside Tang's victory and succesful title defense, Anatoly Malykhin stormed his way to another emphatic finish over Reinier de Ridder to become MMA's first three-division world champion.
Speaking of the unbeaten Russian's achievement, Fabricio Andrade had this to say in the same interview:
"I just knew he [Malykhin] was going to be a triple world champion."