Tang Kai

Reigning ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Tang Kai is originally from Shaoyang in China’s Hunan Province. He started his martial arts journey with wrestling while he was studying at a sports university, but he soon fell in love with MMA and began training in other disciplines. 

After pursuing his passion full-time, Tang recognized that he needed better training to fully unlock his vast potential. With that in mind, he made the difficult decision to relocate up north to Shanghai in search of better instruction. Tang soon found the Dragon Warrior Gym, and he has since built upon his wrestling skills under head coach Alex Niu and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach Marcio Andrade. 

Combining potent striking with excellent takedowns and ground-and-pound, Tang made his professional MMA debut in 2016 after only a year of training. Drawing upon his immense talent, he quickly put together an impressive record with eight knockout victories before signing with ONE Championship. 

Tang’s success continued in the world’s largest martial arts organization, as he demolished six consecutive opponents to earn a shot at Thanh Le’s ONE Featherweight MMA World Championship. And in August 2022, he made history by defeating Le via unanimous decision to claim the belt and become China’s first male to win an MMA World Title. 

Injury then prevented Tang from defending his crown. But at the historic ONE 166: Qatar in March 2024, Tang proved he was the division’s true king when he knocked out Le in stunning fashion.