PLUS: BURMESE-ENGLISH SUPERSTAR NICOLA BARKE MAKES HER WORLD LETHWEI DEBUT AGAINST HUNGARIAN CHAMPION BIANKA BALAJTI
ALSO: MYANMAR STARS SHWE YAR MANN TO BATTLE PHYAN THWE AND YAN NAING TUN TAKES ON THA PYAY NYO IN TRADITIONAL LETHWEI RULES
World Lethwei Championship (WLC), the world’s largest bareknuckle fighting organisation, have announced the first fights of a 13-fight supercard for the next event, WLC: FEARLESS TIGERS. In the main event, Myanmar’s elite counter striker Thway Thit Win Hlaing (3-0 WLC) is set to go up against German-Thai power striker Burutlek Petchyindee Academy (1-0 WLC) in a match up of undefeated strikers in the world’s best bareknuckle fighting competition. In the co-main event, newly signed Burmese-English superstar Nicola Barke faces Hungary’s multiple-time champion Bianka Balajti in a female Light Welterweight match.
WLC: FEARLESS TIGERS will also feature a 5-fight super card with traditional lethwei rules, presented by official partner Great Tiger Group. The matches featured include two of the biggest stars in lethwei, Shwe Yar Mann and Phan Thwe, facing off against each other. Two World Lethwei Championship veterans, Yan Naing Tun and Tha Pyay Nyo, will also do battle. This card will exclusively be broadcasted in Myanmar on official broadcaster Canal+.
WLC: FEARLESS TIGERS takes place on 11 October 2019 in Mandalar Thiri Indoor Stadium, Mandalay, Myanmar. The event will be broadcast LIVE on Canal+ in Myanmar (broadcast starts at 6pm) and globally on UFC Fight Pass (broadcast starts 7pm).
Thway Thit Win Hlaing is one of the winningest fighters in World Lethwei Championship. He has dispatched of Saw Ba Oo, Shwe Yar Mann and Shan Ko in the first three World Lethwei Championship events before taking a brief hiatus. He is now back in action and ready to conquer again with his precise style of counter striking.
Burutlek Petchyindee Academy made an instant impact in the world of lethwei when he knocked out former Light Welterweight Myanmar National Champion Kyaw Zin Latt with one powerful punch in his debut. That impressive performance has won him a date against Thway Thit Win Hlaing.
Nicola Barke is a Burmese-English striking specialist who is one of the biggest rising stars in the world of combat sports. Barke has won multiple championships in England and China and will now make her way into the world of lethwei. Nicknamed ‘The Burmese Python’, she has won an ardent fan following in Myanmar and will compete in the birth country of her mother for the first time at this event.
Bianka Balajti is a multiple-time muay thai champion in Europe. Originally from Hungary and now residing in Vietnam, Balajti unleashes ferocious power at her opponent with wild abandon and will provide a stylistic clash against Barke, who is a technical striker.
World Lethwei Championship Chairman U Zay Thiha stated, “WLC: FEARLESS TIGERS is the first supercard in World Lethwei Championship history. World Lethwei Championship will showcase lethwei to the world with a 13-fight card featuring both World Lethwei and traditional rules. I am beyond excited for the main event between two of the best strikers on the roster in Thway Thit Win Hlaing and Burutlek Petchyindee Academy. WLC: FEARLESS TIGERS will also see the debut of superstar Nicola Barke. She has all the potential to become the next big martial arts superstar and this fight will be an important first fight for her career trajectory. This is a night that will go down in the annals of history books as one of the greatest nights in lethwei.”