World Lethwei Championship

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] The businessman started Lekkha Moun Co in 2015[2] and the World Lethwei Championship was officially founded in August 2017 by Zay Thiha and investors, as a subsidiary of Lekkha Moun Co.[10]

In 2017, WLC signed Myanmar's top Lethwei fighters Tun Tun Min & Too Too.[11] 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.[12][13]

In March 2019, the promotion announced that it had signed Lethwei superstar Dave Leduc[14] to an exclusive contract.[15] The exclusive contract would make 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] Since the event had a significant viewership success on UFC Fight Pass and won awards in Asia, Leduc received a $50,000 bonus for his performance and marketing efforts.[21]

While on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Dave Leduc announced that the organization had plans to host an historical event in the United States.[22] 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,[23] Thailand, Japan and the United States.[24][25] As the promotion expands internationally, it plans to sign even more free-agents with recognizable names to compete in Lethwei.[1]

In 2017, the WLC entered into a partnership to share fighters with the mixed martial arts promotion ONE Championship.[26]

Cambodia's Nou Srey Pov became the first female winner in World Lethwei Championship, defeating Shwe Sin Min and Shwe Nadi in 2018. [27]

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.[28] Manfredi became the first winner of the newly created women’s division by defeating Yanut.[29]

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.[30]

In 2018, WLC signed a broadcasting deal with international broadcaster Canal+ for exclusive broadcasting rights in Myanmar.[31][32]

The end of 2018, the WLC marked Lethwei history by signing a deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship[33] and having its first Lethwei event broadcast live on UFC Fight Pass.[34][35]

World Lethwei Championship is also available in over 100 countries through broadcast deals with Fight Network,[36] Arena Sport, Fox Sports, Star Sports, Bayon Television, Titan Channel, Sport Extra and StarTimes.

• Fuso
• AGD Bank
• UFC Fight Pass
• Canal+
• SPEED Energy Drink
• 5BB Broadband
• Max Myanmar Group and Consumer Goods Myanmar Co.[2][37]
• Fightbro
• Sogo Plastics

Weight limit: 79 kg (174.2 lb) to 83 kg (183.0 lb)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Dave Leduc def. Seth Baczynski	WLC 9: King of Nine Limbs Mandalay, Myanmar	August 2, 2019	548 days (incumbent)

Weight limit: 71 kg (156.5 lb) to 75 kg (165.3 lb)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	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	Naimjon Tuhtaboyev def. Too Too	WLC 11: Battlebones Yangon, Myanmar	January 31, 2020	366 days (incumbent)

Weight limit: 67 kg (147.7 lb) to71 kg (156.5 lb)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Artur Saladiak def. Saw Ba Oo	WLC 5: Knockout War Naypitaw, Myanmar	June 2, 2018	426 days
2	Sasha Moisa def. Artur Saladiak	WLC 9: King of Nine Limbs Mandalay, Myanmar	August 2, 2019	548 days (incumbent)

Weight limit: 60 kg (132.3 lb) to 63.5 kg (140.0 lb)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Antonio Faria def. Saw Htoo Aung	WLC 7: Mighty Warriors Mandalay, Myanmar	February 22, 2019	709 days (incumbent)	1. def. Francisco Vinuelas at WLC 14 on September 25, 2020

Weight limit: 51 kg (112.4 lb) to 54 kg (119.0 lb)

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign	Defenses
1	Souris Manfredi def. Maisha Katz	WLC 12: Hideout Battle Undisclosed location	August 28, 2020	156 days (incumbent)

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.

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.