Looking Back To World Lethwei Championship: Battlebones

It may seem like a decade ago, but the World Lethwei Championship had quite the 2020 debut back in January.

WLC: Battlebones took place from the Thein Phyu Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar before the novel coronavirus hit and left us all searching for new ways of living. 

It was quite the memorable night for WLC and the fighters of the Lethwei promotion, with the card airing live on UFC Fight Pass. 

For Naimjon Tuhtaboyev, Battlebones will forever hold a special moment in his life and career, as the native of Uzbekistan, scored a split decision over Too Too for the WLC middleweight world championship. 

It was an incredible back-and-forth five rounds and 15 minutes of Lethwei action, but Tuhtaboyev was able to deal Too Too his first career loss in 65 bouts. It was not the first time, though, that Tuhtaboyev topped him, having also earned a win under Muay Thai rules back in 2014.

Using his precise and accurate strikes, Tuhtaboyev was able to withstand the leg kicks and headbutts of Too Too to survive and thrive. 

Tuhtaboyev, a 27-year-old who trains out of the Tiger Muaythai Gym, made his Lethwei debut back in 2018 and has completely dominated since. He joined WLC a year later and as they say, the rest is history. 

The remainder of the card featured highlight-reel knockouts including in the co-main event. Somiong Luktupfah stopped Sok Rith in the second round with a nasty kick to the body. 

Souris Manfredi continued her move towards becoming a world champion in WLC with a second round knockout over Tran Thi Lua. 

Saw Hla Min and Eh Mwe each picked up finishes in the welterweight division, with Samuel Toscano, Hein Tun Aung and Lin Htet Naing winning via decision.