Tang Kai

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 were held in Beijing. 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.

Kai officially faced Shamil Gasanov for his second title defense at ONE Fight Night 43, on May 16, 2026. He won the fight via technical knockout, due to a leg kick and punches. After the fight, he wad given a $50,000 Performance of the Night award bonus, making it his third inside the promotion.

Championships and accomplishments ONE Championship ONE Featherweight World Championship (One time; current) Two successful title defenses Performance of the Night (Two time) WBK WBK Featherweight Tournament Winner

Mixed martial arts record Win

Shamil Gasanov TKO (leg kick and punches) ONE Fight Night 43

Bangkok, Thailand Loss

Akbar Abdullaev TKO (punches) ONE Fight Night 27

Bangkok, Thailand Win

Thanh Le TKO (punches) ONE 166

Lusail, Qatar Win

Thanh Le Decision (unanimous) ONE 160

Kallang, Singapore Win

Kim Jae-woong KO (punches) ONE: X

Kallang, Singapore Win

Yoon Chang-min TKO (punches) ONE: NextGen 2

Kallang, Singapore Win

Ryogo Takahashi TKO (punches) ONE: Fists of Fury 2

Kallang, Singapore Win

Keanu Subba Decision (unanimous) ONE: Reign of Dynasties 2

Kallang, Singapore Win

Edward Kelly Decision (unanimous) ONE: Age of Dragons

Beijing, China Win

Lee Sung-jong KO (head kick) ONE: Hero's Ascent

Pasay, Philippines Win

Nikolay Kondratuk TKO (punches) Rebel FC 8

Guangzhou, China Win

Mario Sismundo TKO (punches) Rebel FC 7

Shanghai, China Win

Batjargal TKO (punches) YunFeng Showdown 8

Yantai, China Win

Mark Gregory Valerio KO (head kick) Rebel FC 6

Shenzhen, China Loss

Asikeerbai Jinensibieke Decision (unanimous) Kunlun Fight MMA 10

Beijing, China Loss

Bekhruz Zukhurov Decision (unanimous) WBK 21

Ningbo, China Win

Asror Olimshoev TKO (retirement)

Win

Avliyohon Hamidov TKO (punches)

Win

Hadi Purnomo TKO (punches) WBK 16

Ningbo, China Win

Artur Kascheev TKO (punches) WBK 15

Ningbo, China Win

Jose Francisco Vinuelas KO (punch) WBK 14

Taizhou, China Win

Ahmet Yazjanov TKO (elbows) WBK 13

Ningbo, China Win

Yang Shuo Decision (unanimous) WBK 12

Qingdao, China