Thanh Le didn’t need much time to claim a piece of the ONE Championship featherweight title.
In the main event of ONE Fight Night 15 at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Le (14-3) faced Ilya Freymanov with the interim featherweight (155 pounds) title on the line. Willing to take the fight anywhere, Le took advantage of an opportunity on the mat and tapped Freymanov (12-3) with a heel hook at 1:02 of Round 1.
The pair exchanged heavy strikes in the opening moments. Freymanov changed levels for a takedown as Le charged forward with hooks. To counter, Le attacked the left leg of Freymanov and after adjusting his position, was able to lock in a heel hook to force a fast tap.
Check out video of the finish below (via X):
OUT OF NOWHERE! 🤯
Thanh Le 🇻🇳🇺🇸 heel hooks Ilya Freymanov in 62 seconds to claim the ONE Interim Featherweight MMA World Title! 👑 #ONEFightNight15 pic.twitter.com/oFxevrNbq0
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 7, 2023
As gold confetti rained down covering the ring, Le dropped down to make a snow angel before talking about his performance on the microphone, when he would admit looking for a submission on the mat was not part of the gameplan coming into the fight, but he was more than willing to take it there.
“Absolutely not, he took me off of my feet,” Le explained. “I hit him, he ain’t like it, he got rocked, put me on my back. Problem is, I’m really f*cking good there. So, sh*t like that happens. Y’all, take me down. Please. Let’s do it.”
Le is now set to for a future rematch against ONE champion Tang Kai, who has been sidelined due to a knee injury. The pair first met at ONE Championship 160 last August, where Tang won a unanimous decision. Tang was brought into the ring to face off with Le, and both men promised to finish the job the next time, leaving the judges out of the final result.
The rematch is ON 😤
Who you got for the undisputed ONE Featherweight MMA World Title?
Watch the ONE Fight Night 15 Replay on Prime Video 👉 https://t.co/LF67g9KCVe pic.twitter.com/Emz5YZVBjw
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 7, 2023
Full results of ONE Fight Night 15 include:
- Thanh Le def. Ilya Freymanov via submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 1:02 – for interim featherweight title
- Jonathan Di Bella def. Danial Williams via unanimous decision – kickboxing bout for strawweight (125 pounds) championship
- Tawanchai def. Jo Nattawut via unanimous decision – kickboxing bout
- Mikey Musumeci def. Shinya Aoki – grappling match
- Joshua Pacio def. Mansur Malachiev via unanimous decision
- Zhang Lipeng def. Timofey Nastyukhin via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:18
- Hu Yong def. Eko Roni Saputra via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:03
- Phetjeeja def. Celest Hansen via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 1:01 – muay Thai bout
- Hiroyuki Tetsuka def. Jin Tae Ho via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:45
- Shakir Al-Tekreeti def. Bampara Kouyate via unanimous decision – muay Thai bout
