WLC
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Poster
Established
2015 (9 years old)
First Recorded Event
2017-03-03
Current Season
2021
Sport
FightingLocation
Myanmar
Gender
Male
TV Rights
Upcoming
Description
Available in:
World Lethwei Championship (also known as WLC) was a Lethwei promotion based in Yangon, Myanmar. The promotion brought to the millennia-old Burmese martial of Lethwei to UFC Fight Pass and showcased it to the world. The WLC events combined the historic traditions of Lethwei with modern entertainment.
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. 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.
Inaugural event
In 2017, WLC signed Myanmar's top Lethwei fighters Tun Tun Min & Too Too. 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.
Signing Dave Leduc
In March 2019, the promotion announced that it had signed Lethwei superstar Dave Leduc to an exclusive contract. The exclusive contract would made it impossible for him to defend his various titles from other promotions. Leduc held a press conference at the Karaweik Palace in Yangon to announce that he was vacating three of his four Lethwei world titles.
For Leduc's promotional debut at WLC 9: King of Nine Limbs, the WLC signed former UFC welterweight Seth Baczynski. Leduc knocked out Baczynski with punches to win the inaugural WLC Cruiserweight Championship. 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. Leduc received a $50,000 bonus for his performance and marketing efforts.
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. At the pre-fight press conference for WLC 11: Battlebones, WLC executive director Sein Phyo Hlaing revealed plans to expand globally in 2020, beginning with Cambodia, Thailand, Japan and the United States. As the promotion expands internationally, it plans to sign even more free-agents with recognizable names to compete in Lethwei.
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). However, the WLC officially entered into a partnership to share fighters with the mixed martial arts promotion ONE Championship. Both parties agreed on sending athletes to fight in each other's organization.
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. As of 2022, there has been rumours of WLC Champion Dave Leduc crossing over to ONE Championship under Lethwei rules.
Seasons
 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | ||||
Teams
  WLC Mens  |
Key
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Fanart
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Other Links
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