World Lethwei Championship (WLC) returns to action on August 28

Yangon, Myanmar: World Lethwei Championship (WLC), the world’s largest bareknuckle fighting organisation, will return to action on 28 August with an international fight card in a closed-door lethwei spectacle. The historic main event will feature the crowning of the inaugural female lethwei world champion as Souris Manfredi (2-0 lethwei) of France take on former WBO Muay Thai title challenger Maisha Katz (0-0 lethwei) from Spain for the Women’s Bantamweight World Lethwei Championship. In the co-main event, Myanmar fan favourite So Mi Ong Luktupfah returns to action against Artur Te of Uzbekistan in a Bantamweight contest.

WLC: HIDEOUT BATTLE will air on 28 August at 6.30pm Myanmar time (5am Pacific Time, 8am Eastern Time, 1pm London Time) and is available on UFC Fight Pass, Canal+ and other broadcast partners across 100 countries. Please check your local listings.

More information on WLC: HIDEOUT BATTLE is available at www.facebook.com/worldlethwei

World Lethwei Championship chairman Zay Thiha stated, “We are excited to announce the return of world-class lethwei action on 28 August. With our new broadcast partners, for the first time ever, World Lethwei Championship will be available in more than 100 countries. I am also very excited to crown the first ever female lethwei world champion in history! Both female athletes are the best in the world and to be able to showcase female athletes in lethwei is one of our organisational goals!”

Souris Manfredi has already set records in World Lethwei Championship, becoming the first female fighter to record a knockout in the promotion and has impressed in both her victorious outings in World Lethwei Championship, defeating Eh Yanut of Cambodia and Tran Thi Lua of Vietnam. Originally from Besançon in France, she now resides in Thailand and has her sights set on becoming the first female World Lethwei Champion.

Maisha Katz is a fast-rising star in the combat sports world, having amassed an imposing 17 victories in 20 outings across the world. The well-travelled athlete will now transition to lethwei with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in front of her.

So Mi Ong Luktupfah is one of the world’s best combat sports superstars at Bantamweight (51 to 54kg). He is renowned for his explosive and swift strikes, and made a successful return to Myanmar when he knocked out his opponent in his World Lethwei Championship debut.

Artur Te is a former Max FC kickboxing world champion in South Korea. The Uzbek athlete is of Korean descent and possesses a tenacious mentality when he enters the ring that would make him an ideal athlete in lethwei.

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Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.