Bringing a New Brand of Combat to the Masses
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Lethwei as a sport is not new. It has existed for decades, confined to Myanmar soil. The idea of turning this national combat sport -- where fighters use hand wraps and not gloves -- into a foreign export started two years ago with Zay Thiha. The local fight promoter and founder of the WLC had a working relationship with One Championship as an event partner in the country. Through that relationship, Ng was hired as the promotion’s CEO and tapped to lead the day-to-day operations of the fledgling brand.
Ng had been a fan of MMA since he saw Royce Gracie
and the original
Ultimate Fighting Championship events at the age of 10. From
being a fan and working in the industry, he knew all about MMA and
the styles involved with it. Yet despite being born and raised in
that region of the world, Ng was unfamiliar with Lethwei.
“I was born in Singapore, and I never had the opportunity to be exposed to Lethwei as a child [while] growing up discovering all these different martial arts,” Ng told Sherdog.com, “but I do now, and I want to give other people that same opportunity.”
As he educated himself on the sport, he discovered an ancient combat art engraved on the walls of Myanmar temples dating back to the 12th Century.
“Lethwei has a history that even pre-dates muay Thai,” Ng said. “It was used as a form of hand-to-hand combat in war between the different empires in Southeast Asia -- [a] striking martial art that allows you to use punches, elbows, kicks [and] knees, but what really sets it apart is the use of headbutts. I consider it the purest form of striking martial arts in the world today.”
Although the art evolved into a sport with set rules and guidelines, at its core, it is combat built to produce action.
“To score points, you have to try to knock your opponent out,” Ng said. “I think that’s what sets Lethwei apart from every other martial arts sport in the world, is that the fighters go in there trying to end that fight.”
In its earliest days, knockouts were the only way to win a Lethwei fight. Otherwise, bouts would be ruled draws. Ng and his staff knew updates were needed to make the promotion successful on a broader level and avoid events filled with undecided results. There had to be a defined scoring system with clear winners and losers, as well as other guidelines to place the promotion on a similar level as other notable sports leagues and organizations. Today, the goal of a Lethwei fight is still to knock out an opponent. However, the WLC instituted an underutilized ruleset created in 1994, which called for a 20-point must scoring system for each round. Medical testing is also done to keep athletes healthy and on a fair level. Foreign referees and judges were added to avoid any questions of local bias. Many of the changes the WLC made to its brand of the sport ruffled the feathers of some Lethwei traditionalists.
“We had so much controversy when we did our first event, about what we are trying to do to the sport,” Ng said. “‘These guys are killing the sport. What they’re doing is bad for the industry, and they will become like any other sport in the future.’ The sport had not changed for the most part over [the last] 40 years. The misconception is that we tried to invent this ourselves. We didn’t; we adopted an older [ruleset] the pioneers of the sport have deemed fit. It’s not like we’re trying to change the sport itself.”
Although adjustments were made, the WLC still maintained many of the cultural elements that make Lethwei shows unique. At the outset of an event, there is a traditional prayer ceremony. Before a bout, an orchestra plays music according to the temple a fighter represents. After the fight is over, winners revel in their victory with a customary celebratory dance.
“We’ve combined the best practices of an international sports organization while retaining the core values and principles of the sport,” Ng said. “After they saw what we had done, they understood what we were trying to achieve. We’re not revolutionizing the sport. We’re adopting the same core values [and] principles that made it what it is today.”
During its first two years in existence, the WLC has garnered a steady rise in interest -- in Myanmar, where all of its events have been held, and abroad. There has been a boost in foreign fans because of two pivotal relationships formed by the promotion, the first being with producers for the Netflix series “Fightworld.” The organization was featured in the third episode, which was titled “Myanmar: Crossroads.” At the time of filming, the promotion was only running its second event. Ng admits at the time that the WLC was not as polished a product as it is now.
“We probably didn’t know what we were doing half of the time,” he said with a laugh, “and it came out way better than we expected it to. The Netflix series really was a trigger for us to get a huge [amount] of momentum going right now.”
The other factor that has aided this momentum was the WLC’s striking a deal to broadcast events across the globe on UFC Fight Pass. The combination of visibility on two major streaming services has helped to push the brand to the biggest audience it has ever had. With the WLC’s visibility reaching well outside of Myanmar, the organization has plans to promote events abroad. The first will take place this year, with two more set for 2020. The Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia are all likely destinations. Europe and the United States are on the promotion’s radar for future events.
“Eventually, the plan is to host an event in the United States,” Ng said. “I’ve already been talking to a couple of venues and sponsors, and hopefully, we can do an event there next year.”
WLC events are broadcast to 40 countries in the Eastern Hemisphere through television partnerships with Canal+ and Fox Sports Asia. It reaches the West through the deal with UFC Fight Pass. To sell the brand to the world, the promotion needs more than just the talent it mines from Myanmar. The roster needs diversity to match the audience the WLC is trying to reach. This has always been a goal for the promotion, but the roster-building process has become easier of late.
“I think with the Netflix show and UFC Fight Pass, it made our jobs a lot easier,” Ng said. “I just say, ‘We are WLC, we are interested in having you for a fight,’ and that kind of explains itself. We don’t have to explain as much now. We actually have talked to a few ex-UFC guys.”
The goal is to add international fighters to the promotion’s nine divisions, ranging from middleweight to light flyweight. However, that does not mean the WLC is currently lacking skilled foreign-born fighters. Several British fighters have already competed in the promotion, and later this year, it will see the debuts of a few American combatants. Not to mention, some of the WLC’s top fighters are foreign-born. One such example is lightweight champion Antonio Faria.
“That guy is an absolute beast,” Ng said.
In the Portuguese fighter’s most recent WLC outing, he faced one of Myanmar’s best fighters at a higher weight class and on two weeks’ notice. Faria won in classic Lethwei fashion via knockout. In March, the promotion added a fighter Ng believes will offer a significant boon to the roster and serve as a key asset as the WLC expand its brand west.
“We’ve signed the best Lethwei fighter in the world right now,” he said. “His name is Dave Leduc, he’s ranked number one across any ranking system, he’s Canadian and he was the first foreign-born fighter to become the best fighter in Lethwei.”
Once viewed as the loathed foreign force, Leduc has become a star in Myanmar and throughout the Lethwei community. Despite overtures from combat promotions from across the world, Leduc has stayed loyal to Lethwei -- a decision that has earned him the appreciation of the fans who once hated him.
Once viewed as the loathed foreign force, Leduc has become a star in Myanmar and throughout the Lethwei community. Despite overtures from combat promotions from across the world, Leduc has stayed loyal to Lethwei -- a decision that has earned him the appreciation of the fans who once hated him.
“He’s turned down big-money offers from every other promotion out there to compete in Lethwei,” Ng said. “People see that. He’s basically fought every single Burmese fighter there is. He’s beaten them all, and now he wants to represent Myanmar [and] the sport as he fights top guys from [the] UFC, One Championship, Glory [or] any big promotion.”
Outside of Myanmar, the talent pool remains shallow. While the promotion finds itself at a new peak in terms of interest from various combat sports veterans, Ng and his staff have come to understand an important truth during two years of scouting.
“One thing we realized is not everybody is really cut out to compete in this sport,” he said. “I think a lot of it is you have to have the right kind of mindset to compete in Lethwei. You have to really want to prove that you’re the best fighter. If you want to win by points and have one more punch than the other person, then this sport is not for you. If you’re in the world of combat sports and martial arts to prove that you’re the best fighter in that world, be aggressive [and] constantly go for the knockout, then there’s no better platform to do it.”
In recent months, Vice News, the BBC and the New York Times have come calling to learn about the sport and promotion. The coverage is important not only for the continued growth of the WLC but for the growth of Lethwei in general.
“Because Myanmar has not been as [economically] open as Thailand and welcomed as many foreign visitors, [Lethwei] is not as known to the international audience,” Ng said, “and we want to showcase Lethwei to the world.”
Ng hopes that one day Lethwei gyms will become commonplace in many parts of the world, just like muay Thai, karate, boxing and MMA: “We want to get to that stage where you have kids training [Lethwei] in little villages and towns all over the world.”
