# Tang Kai

Tang Kai (Chinese: 唐凯, January 10, 1996) is a Chinese professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Featherweight division for ONE Championship. He is the current ONE Featherweight World Champion.

## Early life

Tang was born in Shaoyang, Hunan province. He signed up for wrestling training at a provincial sports school in 2008 at the age of 12 where he dreamt of becoming an Olympian after the 2008 Summer Olympics. At the same time, he was still working part-time, and was admitted to Wuhan Institute of Physical Education with excellent results. After seeing the difficult odds of making it into the national team, Tang became interested in entering MMA as a career.

## Mixed martial arts career
### Early career

Tang started his professional MMA career in 2016 and fought primarily in China. Amassed a record of 10–2 prior to his joined with ONE Championship.

### ONE Championship

Tang his promotional debut against Sung Jong Lee at ONE: Hero's Ascent on January 25, 2019. He won the fight via head kick knockout in the second round.
Tang faced Edward Kelly at ONE: Age Of Dragons on November 16, 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Tang faced Keanu Subba at ONE: Reign of Dynasties 2 on October 9, 2020, and aired on October 16, 2020. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Tang faced Ryogo Takahashi at ONE: Fists Of Fury 2 on February 26, 2021, and aired on March 5, 2021. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.
Tang faced Yoon Chang Min at ONE: NextGen 2 on October 29, 2021, and aired on November 12, 2021. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.
Tang was scheduled to face Kim Jae Woong on January 28, 2022, at ONE: Only the Brave. However, Kim forced to withdraw before the event due to undisclosed medical issue. The pair was rescheduled to meet at ONE: X on March 26, 2022. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

#### ONE Featherweight World Champion

Tang faced Thanh Le for the ONE Featherweight World Championship at ONE 160 on August 26, 2022. He won the bout via unanimous decision and capture the ONE Featherweight Championship.
The rematch between Tang and Le for the ONE Featherweight World Championship was scheduled on July 15, 2023, at ONE Fight Night 12. However, Tang withdraw from the bout due to knee injury. After Le won the interim champion at ONE Fight Night 15, the fight was rescheduled in a unification bout on March 1, 2024, at ONE 166. He retained the title via technical knockout in round three. This win earned the $50,000 Performance of the Night awards.
In the second title defense, Tang faced Akbar Abdullaev on January 11, 2025, at ONE Fight Night 27. At the weigh-ins, Abdullaev failed two hydration tests and came in at 156.75 pounds. The bout proceeded as a non-title contest and he was fined 20% of his purse which went to Tang. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the round five.

## Championships and accomplishments

* ONE Championship
** ONE Featherweight World Championship (One time; current)
*** One successful title defense
** Performance of the Night (Two time) vs. Kim Jae-woong and Thanh Le
** 2024: Ranked #3 Knockout of the Year vs. Thanh Le
* WBK
** WBK Featherweight Tournament Winner

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 22 matches | 19 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 15 | 1 |
| By decision | 4 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 19–3 | Akbar Abdullaev | TKO (punches) | ONE Fight Night 27 | January 11, 2025 | 5 | 1:21 | Bangkok, Thailand | Non-title bout; Abdullaev missed weight (156.75 lb). |
| Win | 19–2 | Thanh Le | TKO (punches) | ONE 166 | March 1, 2024 | 3 | 4:48 | Lusail, Qatar | Defended and unified the ONE Featherweight Championship (155 lb). Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 18–2 | Thanh Le | Decision (unanimous) | ONE 160 | August 26, 2022 | 5 | 5:00 | Kallang, Singapore | Won the ONE Featherweight Championship (155 lb). |
| Win | 17–2 | Kim Jae-woong | KO (punches) | ONE: X | March 26, 2022 | 1 | 2:07 | Kallang, Singapore | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 16–2 | Yoon Chang-min | TKO (punches) | ONE: NextGen 2 | November 12, 2021 | 1 | 4:03 | Kallang, Singapore | |
| Win | 15–2 | Ryogo Takahashi | TKO (punches) | ONE: Fists of Fury 2 | March 5, 2021 | 1 | 1:59 | Kallang, Singapore | |
| Win | 14–2 | Keanu Subba | Decision (unanimous) | ONE: Reign of Dynasties 2 | October 16, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Kallang, Singapore | |
| Win | 13–2 | Edward Kelly | Decision (unanimous) | ONE: Age of Dragons | November 16, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Beijing, China | |
| Win | 12–2 | Lee Sung-jong | KO (head kick) | ONE: Hero's Ascent | January 25, 2019 | 2 | 1:14 | Pasay, Philippines | Return to Lightweight. |
| Win | 11–2 | Nikolay Kondratuk | TKO (punches) | Rebel FC 8 | May 30, 2018 | 1 | 1:41 | Guangzhou, China | |
| Win | 10–2 | Mario Sismundo | TKO (punches) | Rebel FC 7 | April 29, 2018 | 2 | 1:05 | Shanghai, China | Return to Featherweight. |
| Win | 9–2 | Batjargal | TKO (punches) | YunFeng Showdown 8 | December 23, 2017 | 2 | 3:20 | Yantai, China | Lightweight debut. |
| Win | 8–2 | Mark Gregory Valerio | KO (head kick) | Rebel FC 6 | September 2, 2017 | 2 | 3:48 | Shenzhen, China | |
| Loss | 7–2 | Asikeerbai Jinensibieke | Decision (unanimous) | Kunlun Fight MMA 10 | April 10, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Beijing, China | |
| Loss | 7–1 | Bekhruz Zukhurov | Decision (unanimous) | WBK 21 | December 10, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Ningbo, China | |
| Win | 7–0 | Asror Olimshoev | TKO (retirement) | WBK 19 | September 10, 2016 | 2 | 5:00 | Ningbo, China | Won the WBK Featherweight Tournament. |
| Win | 6–0 | Avliyohon Hamidov | TKO (punches) | WBK 19 | September 10, 2016 | 2 | 4:39 | Ningbo, China | WBK Featherweight Tournament Semifinal. |
| Win | 5–0 | Hadi Purnomo | TKO (punches) | WBK 16 | June 26, 2016 | 2 | 0:29 | Ningbo, China | |
| Win | 4–0 | Artur Kascheev | TKO (punches) | WBK 15 | June 9, 2016 | 1 | N/A | Ningbo, China | |
| Win | 3–0 | Jose Francisco Vinuelas | KO (punch) | WBK 14 | April 29, 2016 | 1 | 3:31 | Taizhou, China | |
| Win | 2–0 | Ahmet Yazjanov | TKO (elbows) | WBK 13 | April 9, 2016 | 1 | 3:01 | Ningbo, China | |
| Win | 1–0 | Yang Shuo | Decision (unanimous) | WBK 12 | March 26, 2016 | 1 | N/A | Qingdao, China | Featherweight debut. |