24 February

PORTUGUESE fighter Antonio Faria knocked out light welter weight Myanma national lethwei champion Saw Htoo Aung to become the first-ever Light Welterweight World Lethwei Champion.

Faria‘s victory came during the main event of the World Lethwei Championship WLC-7 Mighty Warriors at the Mandalar Thiri Indoor Stadium in Mandalay on Friday night.

The two fighters seemed equal in their abilities, but Antonio displayed a stronger desire to win, along with greater stamina. 

Punches, kicks and striking with head and knees were used by both fighters, and Saw Htoo Aung seemed to be dominated by Faria in the early minutes.

But in the last minute of their fight, Saw Htoo Aung could not stand up to Antonio’s strikes, and was knocked from his feet by a flurry of strikes from Antonio.

In the co-main event of the WLC, Ukraine’s Sasha Moisa knocked out Shwe Yar Mann in the light middle weight class.

Shwe Yar Mann fought off one knockdown, but was unable to continue after a series of devastating punches and elbows from Moisa. In the other event, Yan Naing Tun won a unanimous decision over Saw Ba Oo.

Likewise in another bout, Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat became the first Vietnamese fighter to win a World Lethwei Championship, with a head kick knockout victory over Cambodian fighter Pich Mtes Khmang.—Lynn Thit(Tgi)