A well-known saying attributed to Mike Tyson is, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Thanh Le is a firm believer in this adage.
This is definitely something to keep in mind, especially if you are going to be on the receiving end of the concussive force that the former ONE featherweight MMA world champion possesses.
During an interview with ONE Championship, Le posed the following question to Ilya Freymanov: “After getting a taste of your destructive capabilities, do you think you’ll be able to maintain your signature aggressive style?”
“I don’t know that he’ll be as aggressive and as forward as typical if he does happen to make a mistake or two and feel some of the strength that I present. However, he noted, “I’m very excited to see how that reaction, as well as his pivots and adjustments, kind of come into play.”
The winner of this matchup between two of the best strikers in the world will walk away from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok as the interim featherweight MMA world titleholder if they emerge victorious in the main event of ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov, which will air shortly on Prime Video.
Ilya Freymanov’s spectacular knockout of the former two-division kingpin Martin Nguyen in the first round of their fight a year ago sent shockwaves through the entirety of the 155-pound division.
After that, in June of last year, the Russian brawler backed it up with another savage finish of Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg, which earned him a crack at the gold versus Le.
Even though Thanh Le has to admit that he is amazed by Freymanov’s great run by far, he still intends to put a roadblock in the Russian’s way and prevent him from challenging the division’s overlord, Tang Kai.
The Vietnamese-American man, who is 38 years old, continued:
“The most important thing is that we want to beat him up from head to toe for the entire scheduled five rounds, but you already know the deal and you already know the story. If he allows me to land one or two shots, he won’t be able to take a punch like he did when he had his broken orbital since it was caused by me and still be standing.
Will Thanh Le be able to add Ilya Freymanov’s name to the long list of people he has knocked out? Find out on October 6 during US Primetime’s live broadcast of the 15th installment of ONE Fight Night. This 10-fight extravaganza is free to watch for Prime Video members in North America who already have a subscription.
