King Kai takes it back home

Featherweight king Tang Kai's unification win looks to have paved the way for ONE Championship's China return as the Singapore-based MMA promotion strives to expand its presence in the birthplace of kung fu.

On Friday, China's first male MMA world champion Tang cemented his status as the featherweight division's "true king" by seeing off interim belt holder Thanh Le in emphatic fashion in their rematch at ONE166 in Qatar.

The convincing third-round TKO dispelled any doubts over Tang's reign in the 155-pound (70-kilogram) class after some critics had questioned his conservative strategy of evading to counterattack in their first bout in August 2022, when Tang took a five-round unanimous decision to wrest the title from Le.

"I delivered on my promise to finish him by myself and not let the judges decide the result again. I will continue fighting hard to keep this belt in China for as long as possible," Tang said after extending his win streak to 11 fights at the sold-out Lusail Sports Arena in Doha.

It also marked the 28-year-old's 15th knockout win out of 19 total career victories, and he now boasts a perfect 8-0 win-loss record since joining ONE in 2019.

"I am really excited to come back strong and deliver on my promise to knock him out. I came back to the Circle and I feel at home," Tang said in his post-fight interview.

An initial rematch between the two knockout specialists scheduled for last summer was put on hold after Tang was sidelined by a knee injury, while the talent-laden weight class moved on in his absence.

Le, a Vietnamese-American heavy hitter, set himself on a collision course with Tang again after submitting Russian phenom Ilya Freymanov in an interim world-title clash in October.

After an 18-month wait, Tang finally saw the crack he'd been looking for across the two bouts against the sophisticated Le.

With both fighters yellow-carded by the referee for their slow and cautious start, Tang began to push more aggressively in the second round by landing more body punches while cutting in lurking for a decisive shot.

Tang's persistence soon paid off when he sensed Le's fatigue late in the third and cracked a huge right hook that dropped the 38-year-old on the canvas.

After a flurry of follow-up punches, referee Olivier Coste waved off the bout with 12 seconds left in the third round, as Tang and his team celebrated wildly.

Buoyed by the impressive social media reaction to Tang's TKO win, ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong revealed at the post-fight news conference that the promotion hopes to return to China with a numbered event before the end of this year.

"I definitely want to do that. Tang Kai is a superstar. I think he's the best Chinese mixed martial artist on the planet," Sityodtong responded when asked if Tang's next defense could be staged on his home soil.

The ONE boss also highlighted how Tang's two fights with Le have trended highly on Chinese social media platforms, such as Douyin and Weibo.

"When he came home to China (following the last fight in 2022), tens of thousands of fans were cheering for him. For ONE Championship and Tang Kai to trend No 1 in a country of over 1.3 billion people is significant.

"I haven't checked the numbers again, but I guarantee his fight trended No 1 again," said the Thai businessman.

He claimed that "big discussions "are happening in "countries around the world" to host ONE Championship events, with China high on the list.

As the first major international MMA promotion to stage live fights on the Chinese mainland, ONE has put on 12 live events in six cities since its debut in Beijing in 2014 until the outbreak of COVID-19 in late 2019.

From four fighters in 2016, ONE has so far signed over 60 Chinese MMA athletes to official contracts and keeps expanding its talent development system in the country with cooperation from sports schools, MMA gyms and media partners.

Tang's next challenge will seemingly come from Garry Tonon, with the American "Lion Killer" currently the top-ranked contender in the division.

"I don't care, any opponent. I'm ready, whether it's Garry Tonon or it's mixed rules — as long as the company puts it in front of me, I'll just do it," said Tang, who also won a $50,000 performance bonus from Sityodtong for his finish of Le.

Aside from Tonon, Tang is yet to face former champion Martin Nguyen of Australia.

Russian contender Freymanov also poses a valid threat, while Shamil "The Cobra" Gasanov lurks at No 4 in the ranking.

"Tang Kai versus Garry Tonon could be a fun fight. Let's see what happens," said Sityodtong. "The featherweight division is stacked, it's definitely one of the best pound-for-pound divisions in ONE Championship."

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn