Thanh James Le (born August 28, 1985) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

, currently competes in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division for the

ONE Championship ONE Championship, formerly ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) until January 2015, is a Multinational corporation, multinational combat sports Promoter (entertainment), promotion founded on 14 July 2011 by Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui. Origi ...

, he is a former interim and lineal ONE Featherweight World Champion. A professional since 2012, Le has competed in

Legacy Fighting Alliance The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merg ...

. He also appeared on reality television series The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber.

Background

Le was born on August 28, 1985, in

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a Home rule in the United States, home rule-class city in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States, of which it is also the county seat. It is the List of cities in Kentucky, fourth-most populous city in the state. Owensboro is loca ...

, United States. His father migrated from Vietnam and met his mother in Kentucky, before the family moved to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, when he was 5 years old.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Le made his professional MMA debut in November 2013. Over the next, he fought in his native United States and earned a record of 4 wins against 1 losses with all of his wins coming via stoppages.

The Ultimate Fighter

On August 31, 2015, it was announced that Le would be a contestant on the 22nd season of

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

reality show, representing Team Faber. In the opening elimination bout, Le faced fellow American Andrés Quintana. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Le represented Team Faber in the first preliminary fight of the season facing Sweden's Martin Svensson. He lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the second round.

Legacy Fighting Alliance and Dana White's Contender Series

Le his promotional debut against Alex Black on February 10, 2017, at LFA 3. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Le appeared in Dana White's Contender Series 2 on July 18, 2017, against Lazar Stojadinovic. He won the fight via knockout in the second round, he wasn't given a UFC contract. Le faced

Bobby Moffett Bobby Moffett (born June 1, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA) who competes in the Featherweight division. A professional since 2013, he has also competed for the UFC, PFL, RFA, and LFA. Background Moffett started training in k ...

for the Interim LFA Featherweight Championship on January 19, 2018, at LFA 31. He won the fight via TKO in the second round to earn the title. Le fought in a unification bout for the LFA Featherweight Championship against

Kevin Aguilar Kevin Aguilar (born September 7, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA). Aguilar was the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) Featherweight champion and he competed in the featherweight (MMA), featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Ch ...

on May 25, 2018, at LFA 40. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

ONE Championship

Le made his promotional debut against Yusup Saadulaev on May 3, 2019, at ONE: For Honor. He won the bout via knockout in the second round. Le faced former

ONE Lightweight World Champion This is a list of ONE Championship champions in each weight division of each sport. Current champions , Xiong Jing Nan , align=center , January 20, 2018 , align=center , , align=center , 7 , - ! align=left , Atomweight , Denice Zamboan ...

Kotetsu Boku Park Kwang-cheol (), better known by his Japanese name , is a retired Japanese-born South Korean mixed martial artist and kickboxer, competing in the Featherweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation. He has mostly fought in Shooto, where ...

on August 16, 2019, at ONE: Dreams of Gold. He won the bout via knockout in the first round. Le faced Ryogo Takahashi on January 10, 2020, at ONE: A New Tomorrow. He won the bout via knockout in the first round.

ONE Featherweight World Champion

Le faced

Martin Nguyen Martin Nguyen (born 5 March 1989) is an Australian former mixed martial artist, who competed in the featherweight division. A professional from 2012 till 2025. Nguyen is most notable for his stint in ONE Championship, where he was the former ONE ...

for the

ONE Featherweight World Championship This is a list of ONE Championship champions in each weight division of each sport. Current champions , Xiong Jing Nan , align=center , January 20, 2018 , align=center , , align=center , 7 , - ! align=left , Atomweight , Denice Zamboang ...

on October 30, 2020, at ONE: Inside the Matrix. He won the fight via TKO in the third round. Le was scheduled to defend his title against

Garry Tonon Garry Lee Tonon (born September 12, 1991) is an American submission grappler and mixed martial artist. He is a five-time Eddie Bravo Invitational champion, and has won titles at ADCC submission wrestling championship, IBJJF World and Pan Americ ...

on December 5, 2021, at ONE: X. However, on October 28, 2021, the event was postponed to early 2022 due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The fight was rescheduled for ONE: Lights Out on March 11, 2022. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. This win earned him the '' Performance of the Night'' award. Le faced Tang Kai on August 26, 2022, at

ONE 160 ''ONE 160: Ok vs. Lee 2'' was a Combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on August 26, 2022, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Background A List of ONE Championship champions#Lightweight World Champion ...

. He lost the fight and the title via unanimous decision. The rematch between Le and Tang for the

was scheduled on July 15, 2023, at

ONE Fight Night 12 ''ONE Fight Night 12: Superlek vs. Khalilov'' was a combat sports event produced by ONE Championship that took place on July 15, 2023, at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Background A ONE Heavyweight World Championship unificatio ...

. However, Tang withdraw from the bout due to knee injury and the bout was cancelled. Le faced Ilya Freymanov for the interim

on October 7, 2023, at

ONE Fight Night 15 ''ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov'' was a combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on October 7, 2023, at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Background A ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Championship b ...

. He won the bout via heel hook in the first round. This win earned him the '' Performance of the Night'' award. Le faced Tang Kai in a rematch, for the

unification bout on March 1, 2024, at

ONE 166 ''ONE 166: Qatar'' was a combat sport event produced by ONE Championship that took place on March 1, 2024, at Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar. Background This event marked the organization's debut in Qatar. It also the second visit to ...

. He lost the bout via technical knockout in round three.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

(One time) ***One successful title defense **Interim

(One time) ** Performance of the Night (Two times) ** 2020 ONE Championship Knockout of the Year ** 2020 ONE Championship Fight of the Year *

**Interim LFA Featherweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 14–4 , Tang Kai , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:48 ,

Lusail Lusail (, , ) is the second-largest city in Qatar after Doha, and the economic capital of Qatar, located on the coast, in the southern part of the municipality of Al Daayen. Lusail lies about north of the Doha city centre, just north of the West ...

, Qatar , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Ilya Freymanov , Submission (heel hook) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:02 ,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, Thailand , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–3 , Tang Kai , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kallang Kallang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential zone located in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the l ...

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 ,

, KO (punches) , ONE: Lights Out , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:56 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 ,

, TKO (punches) , ONE: Inside the Matrix , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:19 ,

, Singapore , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Ryogo Takahashi , KO (punches) , ONE: A New Tomorrow , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:51 ,

, Thailand , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 ,

, KO (punches) , ONE: Dreams of Gold , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:28 ,

, Thailand , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Yusup Saadulaev , KO (knee) , ONE: For Honor , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:12 ,

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

, Indonesia , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 ,

, KO (punches) , LFA 40 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:44 ,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , LFA 31 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:55 ,

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Lazar Stojadinovic , KO (head kick and punches) , Dana White's Contender Series 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:35 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Alex Black , TKO (body kick and punches) , LFA 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:43 ,

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, fifth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the county seat, parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles (Louisiana), Lake Char ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Cody James , TKO (punches) , Mid City Fight Productions 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

Avondale, Louisiana Avondale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the west bank of the Mississippi River. The population was 4,582 in 2020. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie, Lou ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 ,

Josh Quayhagen Josh Quayhagen (born August 30, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2011, Quayhagen has previously fought for Legacy FC, Bellator, and was a contestant on ...

, TKO (punches) , World Fighting Championships 31 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:49 ,

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Shawn Fitzsimmons , TKO (elbows) , World Fighting Championships 27 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:27 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Matt Vaughn , Submission , Renaissance MMA 30 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:36 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 , Justin Martin , TKO (punches) , XFC: Le vs. Martin , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:44 ,

Ponchatoula, Louisiana Ponchatoula is the second-largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana. The population was 6,559 at the 2010 census and 7,545 at the time of the 2020 population estimates program. Etymology It is speculated that the name is derived from the C ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Robert Dunn , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Renaissance MMA 29 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:58 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Martin Svensson , Submission (rear-naked choke) , rowspan=2, The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber , (airdate) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:48 , rowspan=2,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Andrés Quintana , KO (punch) , (airdate) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 , , -

References

External links

Thanh Le
at

ONE 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le, Thanh 1985 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male taekwondo practitioners American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu American sportspeople of Vietnamese descent Sportspeople of Vietnamese descent People from Owensboro, Kentucky Sportspeople from Owensboro, Kentucky ONE Championship champions ONE Championship mixed martial artists