Thanh Le shocked the world of ONE Championship after knocking out Martin Nguyen in the third round to win the featherweight title at Inside the Matrix in Singapore. Nguyen had dominated the fight for two and a half rounds, putting intense pressure on Le and rocking him before the Vietnamese-American caught him on the button. “The Situ-Asian” (13-4) dropped to the floor and tried to go for the clinch, but Le (12-2) kept the punches coming and got him out of there. “Man, it feels great, a million emotions running through me right now,” 35-year-old Le said in his post-fight interview. “I just want to say thank you to Martin and his team. I’m pretty sure I broke both of my hands. “He’s champ for a reason, I know I’m gonna see him again in a few damn months. Come on, I’m ready. I know you’re ready. Thank you for the match. It was a tense start to the opening round for Le, with Nguyen stalking the challenger around the Circle. The former Dana White’s Contender Series competitor could only catch the champ with a couple of kicks – and a low blow. Nguyen’s corner told him “stay there” in the second round, keeping Le on the outside. And then it was Le’s turn to get hit below the belt. The Vietnamese-Australian upped the aggression at the start of the third round, landing his jab and a right hand. Le kept moving, kept Nguyen chasing him. But when Nguyen landed the right again on the jaw, he looked to be closing in on the win as Le changed the game plan and tried to wrestle. With Le’s guard dropped, Nguyen was turning it on, but suddenly Le caught him with a right hand as he was coming in. Nguyen kept his wits about him and tried to go into the clinch, barely avoiding a knee to the head from Le while scrambling to his feet. But Le then put him out against the fence and the referee had seen enough. “If he’s gonna come in here and keep his belt, he’s gotta come get it,” Le added. “He was doing a great job listening to his corner, they’re smart guys. It’s amazing to be able to compete against a team like that and come out on top. “The pressure was beautiful, but that’s what gets you knocked out by me, stepping into that zone where I gotta hit you and it happened again.”
