World Lethwei Championship

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World Lethwei Championship
Private
Industry Lethwei promotion
Founded August 2015
Headquarters Yangon, Myanmar
Key people
 Erik Alonso (CEO)[1]
Zay Thiha (Chairman)[2]
Sein Phyo Hlaing (Executive Director)[3]
Owner Myanmar Lekkha Moun Co Ltd[4]
Website www.wlc.com.mm

World Lethwei Championship (also known as WLC) is a Lethwei promotion based in Yangon, Myanmar.[5] The promotion brought to the millennia-old Burmese martial of Lethwei to UFC Fight Pass and showcased it to the world.[6][7] The WLC events combined the historic traditions of Lethwei with modern entertainment.[8]

History

Formation

The success of ONE Championship's mixed martial arts events in Myanmar caught the eye of Zaykabar Company Vice-Chairman Zay Thiha, who decided to bring world-class Lethwei events the world.[9][10] The businessman started Lekkha Moun Co in 2015 and the World Lethwei Championship was officially founded in August 2017 by Zay Thiha and investors, as a subsidiary of Lekkha Moun Co.[2][11]

Inaugural event

In 2017, WLC signed Myanmar's top Lethwei fighters Tun Tun Min & Too Too.[12] The first WLC event, titled WLC 1: The Great Beginning, was held on 3 March 2017 at Mingalardon Event Zone in Mingaladon Township, Yangon, Myanmar.[13][14]

Signing Dave Leduc

In March 2019, the promotion announced that it had signed Lethwei superstar Dave Leducto an exclusive contract.[15] The exclusive contract would made it impossible for him to defend his various titles from other promotions.[16] Leduc held a press conference at the Karaweik Palace in Yangon to announce that he was vacating three of his four Lethwei world titles.[17][18]

For Leduc's promotional debut at WLC 9: King of Nine Limbs, the WLC signed former UFC welterweight Seth Baczynski.[19] Leduc knocked out Baczynski with punches to win the inaugural WLC Cruiserweight Championship.[20] The event received a significant viewership success on UFC Fight Pass and won multiple awards in Asia such as the 2019 Best Sport Program at The Asian Academy Awards.[21] Leduc received a $50,000 bonus for his performance and marketing efforts.[22]

International expansion

In October 2019, while on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Dave Leduc announced that the organization had plans to host an historical event in the United States.[23] At the pre-fight press conference for WLC 11: Battlebones, WLC executive director Sein Phyo Hlaing revealed plans to expand globally in 2020,[3] beginning with Cambodia,[24] Thailand, Japan and the United States.[25][26] As the promotion expands internationally, it plans to sign even more free-agents with recognizable names to compete in Lethwei.[27]

ONE Championship partnership

In 2017, showed interest in co-promoting events in order to expand globally and there was rumours the organization could co-promote with the US-based Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC).[28] However, the WLC officially entered into a partnership to share fighters with the mixed martial arts promotion ONE Championship.[10] Both parties agreed on sending athletes to fight in each other's organization.[29][1]

On June 30, 2017, in a collaboration between ONE and WLC, the organizations held a Lethwei dark match at ONE Championship: Light of a Nation, a contest between Soe Htet Oo and Thway Thit Win Hlaing. Soe Htet Oo would end up losing a decision according to WLC point system where a winner must be chosen by judges decision if the fight goes there is no stoppage.[30] As of 2022, there has been rumours of WLC Champion Dave Leduc crossing over to ONE Championship under Lethwei rules.[31][32]

Women division

Cambodia's Nou Srey Pov became the first female winner in World Lethwei Championship, defeating Shwe Sin Min and Shwe Nadi in 2018. [33]

In 2019, WLC announced it will commit to the female Lethwei division with a dedicated female match at every event. It held its first female fight after the announcement featuring France's Souris Manfredi and Eh Yanut from Cambodia at WLC 9: King of Nine Limbs on 2 August in Mandalay, Myanmar. Manfredi became the first winner of the newly created women’s division by defeating Yanut.[34]

Broadcast

Myanmar

Sky Net was the first television channel to broadcast the WLC events live in Myanmar and were then delayed telecast in over 40 countries worldwide.[35]

In 2018, WLC signed a broadcasting deal with international broadcaster Canal+ for exclusive broadcasting rights in Myanmar.[36][37]

Outside Myanmar

The end of 2018, the WLC marked Lethwei history by signing a deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship[38] and having its first Lethwei event broadcast live on UFC Fight Pass.[39][40] World Lethwei Championship is also available in over 100 countries through broadcast deals with Fight Network,[41] Arena Sport, Fox Sports, Star Sports, Bayon Television, Titan Channel, Sport Extra and StarTimes.

Sponsorship

Events

# Event Date Venue Location
13 WLC 14: Lethwei Showcase 25 September 2020 Undisclosed location Undisclosed location
12 WLC 12: Hideout Battle 28 August 2020 Undisclosed location Undisclosed location
11 WLC 11: Battlebones 31 January 2020 Thein Pyu Stadium Myanmar Yangon, Myanmar
10 WLC 10: Fearless Tigers 4 October 2019 Mandalar Thiri Indoor Stadium Myanmar Mandalay, Myanmar
9 WLC 9: King of Nine Limbs 2 August 2019 Mandalar Thiri Indoor Stadium Myanmar Mandalay, Myanmar
8 WLC 8: Karen Spirit 5 May 2019 Chit Tu Myaing Park Myanmar Hpa-an, Myanmar
7 WLC 7: Mighty Warriors 22 February 2019 Mandalar Thiri Indoor Stadium Myanmar Mandalay, Myanmar
6 WLC 6: Heartless Tigers 29 September 2018 Thuwunna National Indoor Stadium Myanmar Mandalay, Myanmar
5 WLC 5: Knockout War 2 June 2018 Wunna Theikdi Indoor Stadium Myanmar Naypitaw, Myanmar
4 WLC 4: Bareknuckle-King 17 February 2018 Wunna Theikdi Indoor Stadium Myanmar Naypitaw, Myanmar
3 WLC 3: Legendary Champions 4 November 2017 Thuwunna National Indoor Stadium Myanmar Yangon, Myanmar
2 WLC 2: Ancient Warriors 10 June 2017 Thuwunna National Indoor Stadium Myanmar Yangon, Myanmar
1 WLC 1: The Great Beginning 3 March 2017 Mingalardon Event Zone Myanmar Yangon, Myanmar

Champions

World Champions

Division Champion Since Defenses
Cruiserweight Canada Dave Leduc August 2, 2019 (WLC 9: King of Nine Limbs) 0
Middleweight Uzbekistan Naimjon Tuhtaboyev January 31, 2020 (WLC 11: Battlebones) 0
Light Middleweight Ukraine Sasha Moisa August 2, 2019 (WLC 9: King of Nine Limbs) 0
Light Welterweight Portugal Antonio Faria February 22, 2019 (WLC 7: Mighty Warriors) 1
Women's Bantamweight France Souris Manfredi August 28, 2020 (WLC 12: Hideout Battle) 0

Myanmar National Champion

Division Champion Since Defenses
Light Welterweight Myanmar Saw Htoo Aung September 29, 2018 (WLC 6: Heartless Tigers) 0

World championship history

Cruiserweight Championship

Weight limit: 79 kg (174.2 lb) to 83 kg (183.0 lb)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Canada Dave Leduc
def. Seth Baczynski		 WLC 9: King of Nine Limbs
Mandalay, Myanmar		 August 2, 2019 Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. days
(incumbent)

Middleweight Championship

Weight limit: 71 kg (156.5 lb) to 75 kg (165.3 lb)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Myanmar Too Too
def. Michael Badato		 WLC 3: Legendary Champions
Yangon, Myanmar		 November 4, 2017 818 days 1. def. Vasyl Sorokin at WLC 4 on February 17, 2018
2 Uzbekistan Naimjon Tuhtaboyev
def. Too Too		 WLC 11: Battlebones
Yangon, Myanmar		 January 31, 2020 Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. days
(incumbent)

Light Middleweight Championship

Weight limit: 67 kg (147.7 lb) to71 kg (156.5 lb)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Poland Artur Saladiak
def. Saw Ba Oo		 WLC 5: Knockout War
Naypitaw, Myanmar		 June 2, 2018 426 days
2 Ukraine Sasha Moisa
def. Artur Saladiak		 WLC 9: King of Nine Limbs
Mandalay, Myanmar		 August 2, 2019 Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. days
(incumbent)

Light Welterweight Championship

Weight limit: 60 kg (132.3 lb) to 63.5 kg (140.0 lb)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 Portugal Antonio Faria
def. Saw Htoo Aung		 WLC 7: Mighty Warriors
Mandalay, Myanmar		 February 22, 2019 Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. days
(incumbent)		 1. def. Francisco Vinuelas at WLC 14 on September 25, 2020

Women's Bantamweight Championship

Weight limit: 51 kg (112.4 lb) to 54 kg (119.0 lb)
No. Name Event Date Reign Defenses
1 France Souris Manfredi
def. Maisha Katz		 WLC 12: Hideout Battle
Undisclosed location		 August 28, 2020 Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist. days
(incumbent)

Rules

The WLC uses the modern Lethwei rules also known as tournament rules first established in 1996 by the Myanmar Lethwei Federation.

Rounds

Each bout can be booked as a 3, 4 or 5 round fight with 3 minutes per round and a 2-minute break in between rounds. Championship bouts are 5 round fights with 3 minutes per round and a 2-minute break between rounds.

Judging

In the event that a bout goes the distance, it will go to the judges decision. The 3 judges will score the bout based on number of strikes per round. Fighters have a maximum of 3 knockdowns per round and 4 knockdowns in the entire fight before the fight is ruled a knockout.

Weight classes

Weight class name Upper limit Gender
in pounds (lb) in kilograms (kg) in stone (st)
Light Flyweight 105 48 7.6 Female
Flyweight 112 51 8 Male / Female
Bantamweight 119 54 8.5 Male / Female
Featherweight 126 57 9 Male / Female
Lightweight 132 60 9.5 Male / Female
Light Welterweight 140 63.5 10 Male / Female
Welterweight 148 67 10.5 Male
Light Middleweight 157 71 11.1 Male
Middleweight 165 75 11.8 Male
Super Middleweight 174 79 12.4 Male
Cruiserweight 183 83 13 Male

Awards

Notable fighters

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See also

References

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External links

Template:Sports governing bodies in Myanmar

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