Thanh Le satisfied with submission victory at ONE Fight Night 15: “It really feels good to rip a limb off”

Thanh Le left fans in Bangkok, Thailand, in awe by capturing the ONE Interim Featherweight MMA World Title.

It only took a little over a minute for him to submit Ilya Freymanov with a painful heel hook in the main event of ONE Fight Night 15 on Prime Video this past Friday, October 6.

For many, opting to take a different path to triumph came as a surprise, given his reputation as a striker.

Nevertheless, Le expressed contentment with his victory, emphasizing that it was not just about winning, but how he accomplished it.

“I still like hitting people, it’s a really good feeling. It comes from my roots and my taekwondo background. But man, it really feels good to rip a limb off,” he said.

“Obviously, my heart goes out to Ilya. I hope he heals quickly and gets back in there and knocks a bunch of people out. But personally and selfishly, that s**t felt good, too.”

Le had hoped to deliver a performance befitting the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. However, destiny had a different plan, and he achieved victory through a submission.

“[I] probably would’ve loved to get a knockout, but I’m glad I was in Lumpinee and then able to get a submission and show them a little something they’re not used to seeing maybe in this stadium. So, that was cool,” he said.

“Hopefully, I can open their eyes up to jiu-jitsu and how awesome that is and how cool it is even from somebody who’s not the best in the world at it.”

Thanh Le turns his attention to Tang Kai

As the newly crowned interim champion, Thanh Le’s focus has now shifted to a unification rematch with lineal titleholder Tang Kai.

“We’ll start working toward the Tang Kai rematch so I can get my actual belt back and do round six, since we have an ugly, disgusting, nasty, unfinished fight that we have to finish,” he said.

Their initial encounter was a closely contested battle that ended in Tang’s favor. However, Le wants to ensure that their second date tells another story.

“I’m excited to get back in there. He’s obviously very good. The fight’s going to look a little differently, so we’ll let you see when the time comes,” Le said.