ONE Championship: Thanh Le tells Garry Tonon ‘we’re gonna F each other up’, title fight ‘ain’t going to the judges’

Featherweight bout finally goes ahead in December after injury setbacks for both men, and scheduling disruptions caused by Covid-19

‘Garry, you’re gonna choke me, tap me, or I’m knocking you out. Something’s gonna happen,’ Vietnamese-American says in Post face-off

Reading Time:2 minutes

Thanh Le (left) is set to defend his featherweight title against Garry Tonon in December. Photos: ONE Championship

Published: 5:09pm, 6 Oct 2021Updated: 8:24pm, 6 Oct 2021

ONE Championship featherweight king Thanh Le is under no illusions that he could be involved in the kind of recent judging controversies that have hit the Asian martial arts promotion.

The 36-year-old Vietnamese-American (12-2), who knocked out Martin Nguyen to claim the belt in September 2020, will finally make the first defence of his title against Garry Tonon (6-0) at December’s ONE: X – the organisation’s 10th anniversary event – in Singapore.

Two recent high-profile fights have been formally reviewed, with Ok Rae-yoon’s lightweight title win over Christian Lee, and Ham Seo-hee’s atomweight grand prix quarter-final split decision against Denice Zamboanga, both upheld by ONE’s Competition Committee.

“This thing ain’t going to the judges,” Le told the Post, however, during a face-off interview with American grappling sensation Tonon.

“Garry you’re gonna choke me, tap me, or I’m knocking you out, or something. Something’s gonna happen. We’re gonna f*** each other up, and I’m super excited.”