China’s first male MMA champ Tang Kai mobbed by fans on first visit back to home city of Shaoyang
- New ONE Championship featherweight king greets children at alma mater, Shaoyang Sports School, with a street parade held in his honour
- ‘I will make sure this gold belt stays in China forever, and to let everyone know there’s a world champion from Shaoyang,’ he says
ONE Championship featherweight king Tang Kai enjoyed a memorable homecoming as he returned to China for the first time since becoming the country’s first male MMA world champ.
“The KO God” – who is based in Phuket, Thailand, where he trains out of the famed Tiger Muay Thai gym – visited his home city of Shaoyang, in Hunan province, this week, where thousands of people showed up to greet him.
“I’ve got a golden belt, so finally I can go home,” Tang said, in a video posted to ONE’s official Weibo account. “I got home one year ago, but before that I hadn’t been home for six years.”
The 26-year-old Tang (15-2) claimed his featherweight belt after beating Vietnamese-American Thanh Le (13-3) by unanimous decision at the ONE 160 event in Singapore last month.
When he arrived at Shaoyang airport, Tang was greeted with hugs from his parents – and a “welcome world champion” sign.
“Thank you for the support,” he said, as he was warmly welcomed back by the local people, before going to visit his alma mater, Shaoyang Sports School.
“This is where my dream all began,” Tang said, in a speech in front of students at the school.