Lone Chaw (Burmese: လုံးချော) is a retired Burmese Lethwei fighter and former Openweight Lethwei World Champion.[1][2][3]

Lone Chaw
Born (1976-10-30) October 30, 1976 (age 48)
Ayeyarwady, Burma
Native nameMaung Naing Lin
Other namesလုံးချော
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight80 kg (176 lb; 12 st 8 lb)
StanceOrthodox
TeamThut Ti Lethwei Gym, KLN
TrainerSaw Ayeyar
U Daung Nyo
Win Zin Oo
Years active1995–2012
SpouseMa Zin Zin Mya

Personal life

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Lone Chaw is of Karen descent. He was born in a humble village in the Ayeyarwady division in Myanmar. He dropped out of school in the ninth grade and started working at the family farm full-time. In 1995, he started training Lethwei and became determined to be a successful professional fighter when he learned his hometown did not boast a Myanmar Lethwei champion.[4] He moved to Yangon in 1999 to pursue that goal. His first fight was at a traditional festival.[5]

In 2012, he joined Thut Ti Lethwei Gym as head trainer and teacher under camp owner Win Zin Oo.[3][6][7] In 2012, at 36 years old, Lone Chaw retired from fighting and started coaching.[8][9][10] Lone Chaw eventually left Thut Ti to form his own camp with the help of his father.

Lethwei career

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Lone Chaw made a name for himself by fighting local and international competition.[11] Notably, he was one of the first Lethwei fighter to go fight in Japan.[12]

In 1999, Lone Chaw won the Myanmar Interstate Division Title and the Golden Belt Championship in 2006 and 2007. His most notorious fight was against the legendary Shwe War Tun in 2006, whom he had admired before he became a professional fighter. In an interview, Lone Chaw said "Shwe War Tun is an idol for me because of his fighting capability. I really respect him." In 2006, Shwe Sai was stripped of the Openweight Lethwei World title due to inability to defend the title. Former Openweight champion Shwe War Tun was selected to face Lone Chaw who was number one contender for the vacant openweight title. Traditionally the Lethwei Golden Belt is passed on by incapacitating the champion by KO, TKO or forfeit, but if the title is vacant it is mandatory to determine a winner.[8] After 5 rounds, as it is mandatory to crown a new champion, Lone Chaw was declared winner and became the new Openweight Champion.[4]

On April 26, 2008, the fight against Win Tun ended in a bloody draw. The result was a big blow to Lone Chaw's reputation, as the 63 kg challenger Win Tun controlled most of the fight.[13]

On July 27, 2008, Lone Chaw who was coming from 10 consecutive draws, defeated Lethwei rising star Wunna by TKO in Yangon. Wunna was dropped by a fury of punches and wasn't able to answer the count.[14]

On March 1, 2009, Lone Chaw lost the Openweight World title to Saw Nga Man in Yangon, Myanmar. Lone Chaw violated the MTLF traditional code of conduct and regulations in when he landed a heavy flying kick when on Saw Nga Man when he was in the corner of the ring with his back turned. The violation caused chaos and fans were calling for Lone Chaw's eviction from the ring. The organisers were forced to turn the lights out on the angry crowd. The three judges reminded Lone Chaw to abide by the traditional boxing rules. The electricity was restored within a few minutes but the crowd had turned on the champion Lone Chaw and was now cheering for Saw Nga Man on for the remainder of the bout. The chief judge U Dang Ni said he had taken Lone Chaw's conduct into account to crown the new champion "The win was deserved for Saw Nga Man because he was superior to Lone Chaw, both in technique and in adhering to the rules and regulations." he said. Lone Chaw expressed that he never set out to deliberately break the code of conduct. He stated that the violation was made out of frustration since Saw Nga Man had been elusive and did not allow him to land his trademark flying knee or his straight right punches.[15]

On 4 May, 2009, as reported by MMA Mania, Lone Chaw faced Shwe Sai in Yangon and the fight ended as a draw after a spectacular knockout from Shwe Saw, however Lone Chaw used his special time-out and finished the fight aggressively and almost knocked out Shwe Sai at the end of the bout.[16]

Championships and accomplishments

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Championships

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Lethwei record

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Lethwei record
43 fights, 13 wins (11 (KO/TKO's), 7 losses, 24 draws
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time
2014-08-17 Draw   Shwe War Tun National Championship Challenge event Yangon, Myanmar Draw 3 3:00
2013-01-04 Draw   Yan Gyi Aung Mandalay Rumbling Challenge Taungoo, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2012-09-15 Draw   Rua Druce Mandalay Rumbling International Challenge Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2012-03-27 Draw   Kyal Lin Aung Lethwei Challenge Fights & Fundraiser Pyay Township, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2011-11-05 Draw   Tun Tun Myanmar vs. Australia Challenge Fights Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2011-05-17 Loss   Phoe Kay Challenge Fights Mudon Township, Myanmar KO 4
2010-12-26 Loss   Phoe Kay Dagon Shwe Aung Lan Championship Semi-final Yangon, Myanmar KO 4 0:32
2010-08-02 Loss   Phoe Kay Myingyan Challenge Fights Mandalay, Myanmar KO
2009-12-14 Loss   Shwe Sai Dagon Shwe Aung Lan Championship Semi-final Yangon, Myanmar Decision 5 3:00
2009-10-25 Draw   Fahsura PSR Muay Thai Gym Myanmar vs. Thailand Challenge Fights Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2009-09-20 Loss   Saw Nga Man 2009 Golden Belt Championship Final Yangon, Myanmar Decision 5 3:00
2009-05-03 Draw   Naoki Samukawa Myanmar vs. Japan Goodwill Letwhay Competition Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2009-04-05 Draw   Shwe Sai Dagon Shwe Aung Lan Championship Final Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:000
2009-03-01 Loss   Saw Nga Man Dagon Shwe Aung Lan Championship Semi-final Yangon, Myanmar DQ 5 3:00
Lost Openweight Lethwei Golden Belt - Lone Chaw violated the MTLF traditional code of conduct.[15]
2008-11-30 Draw   Win Tun Lethwei Challenge Fights Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2008-11-09 Win   Tunthong Myanmar-Thai International Letwhay Challenge Fight Yangon, Myanmar KO 3 2:44
2008-09-28 Draw   Saw Nga Man Calsome Challenge Fight-1 Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2008-08-10 Win   Yan Gyi Aung Lethwei Challenge Fights Yangon, Myanmar KO 5 2:36
2008-07-27 Win   Wunna Thuwunna Indoor Stadium Yangon, Myanmar KO 2 1:44
2008-04-26 Draw   Win Tun Kandawgyi Park Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2008-03-09 Draw   Shwe Sai National Championship Challenge event (Shwe Sai) Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2008-02-22 Draw   Shan Lay Thway Kandawgyi Park Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2008-02-12 Draw   Yan Gyi Aung Challenge Fights Mandalay, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2008-02-02 Draw   Thuya Ye Aung Challenge Fights Mawlamyine, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2008-01-27 Draw   Saw Nga Man Sittwe Challenge Fights Sittwe, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2007-12-23 Draw   Kyal Lin Aung Lethwei Challenge Fights Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2007-11-23 Draw   Yan Gyi Aung Kandawgyi Park Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2007-10-23 Draw   Shan Lay Thway Kandawgyi Park Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2007-09-09 Win   Zan Htoo Golden Belt Championship Yangon, Myanmar Decision 5 3:00
2007-08-19 Win   Nick Fiordo Myanmar vs. Japan Challenge Fights Differ Ariake Tokyo, Japan KO 3 1:34
2007-05-12 Draw   Zan Htoo Kandawgyi Park Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2007-04-07 Win   Saw Nga Man Kandawgyi Park Challenge Fights Yangon, Myanmar KO 2 2:30
2007-02 Draw   Saw Nga Man Lethwei Challenge Fights Tachileik, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2007-01-07 Win   Shwe War Tun Kandawgyi Park Yangon, Myanmar KO 2 1:55
2006-05-21 Win   Shwe War Tun Golden Belt Championship Yangon, Myanmar Decision 5 3:00
Wins vacant Openweight Lethwei Golden Belt
2006-03-17 Win   Tetsuya Yamauchi Kushima's Fight 12 Shinjuku FACE Tokyo, Japan KO 3 2:10
2006-01-26 Win   Wan Chai Myeik city Lethwei Challenge Fights Myeik, Myanmar Draw 3
2005-10-16 Draw   Shwe Sai 2nd City F.M Aung Lan Tournament, Myanmar Convention Center Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2005-09-11 Win   Wataru Imamura Kushima's Fight 10 Nagasaki Peace Kaikan Hall Nagasaki, Japan KO 1 1:25
2005-08-07 Draw   Saw Nga Man 23rd Southeast Asian Games placements and Challenge Fights Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2005-04-03 Draw   Wan Chai City F.M Aung Lan Tournament, Myanmar Convention Center Yangon, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
2004-06-05 Loss   Wan Chai Myeik city Lethwei Challenge Fights[17] Myeik, Myanmar KO 3 2:50
2004-02-29 Win   Ali (Thaton) First class Challenge Fights at Thuwunna Gymnasium Yangon, Myanmar KO
2003-05-18 Draw   Thuya Ye Aung Challenge Fights, Meiktila District Sports Hall Meiktila, Myanmar Draw 5 3:00
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

References

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  1. ^ Justin Calderon (24 September 2014). "Lethwei boxing in Myanmar: Asia's new martial arts sensation". CNN Travel.
  2. ^ Goyder, James (22 July 2015). "Inside a Burmese Lethwei Gym". VICE Fightland.
  3. ^ a b Joe Henley (28 January 2018). "Burmese bare-knuckle kick-boxing goes mainstream as foreigners discover ancient combat sport". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021.
  4. ^ a b Tin Moe Aung (9 September 2007). "From a rice farmer to king of the ring". Myanmar Times.
  5. ^ Pinky (16 July 2012). "Kick-boxer drawn into fighting for a living". Myanmar Times.
  6. ^ Ophelia Bearcat (26 August 2016). "Get your kicks at a Myanmar lethwei class". Myanmar Times. Archived from the original on 19 February 2021.
  7. ^ Leena Salim (3 January 2018). "Learn Martial Arts in Yangon". Myanmore Magazine.
  8. ^ a b Leena Salim (1 April 2015). "Lone Chaw - A Gentle Legend, A Lethwei Fighter". Myanmore Magazine.
  9. ^ Kyaw Zin Hlaing (15 January 2016). "Lone Chaw's protégé". Myanmar Times.
  10. ^ Htet Moe Thu (20 November 2019). "MMA မွာ ျမန္မာရိုးရာ လက္ေဝွ႕ ကို ခ်ျပေတာ့မဲ့ ေအာင္လအန္ဆန္း". Real Than.
  11. ^ Tin Moe Aung (17 November 2008). "Myanmar's traditional boxers thrash Thai fighter in Yangon". Myanmar Times.
  12. ^ Andre Malerba (22 September 2013). "Traditional kickboxing, an ancient sport makes a revival". Myanmar Times.
  13. ^ Tin Moe Aung (28 April 2008). "Underdog steals the show, misses KO". Myanmar Times.
  14. ^ Tin Moe Aung (4 August 2008). "Lone Chaw defeats Wunna by TKO". Myanmar Times.
  15. ^ a b Aung Sithu Hein (9 March 2009). "Saw Nga Man topples freeweight king Lone Chaw". Myanmar Times.
  16. ^ Andrew Richardson (18 December 2019). "Midnight Mania! Justin Gaethje pays off student lunch debt for two schools in Denver". MMA Mania.
  17. ^ Tin Moe Aung (3 December 2009). "Rising star plots assault to throne". Myanmar Times.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Openweight Lethwei World Champion
May 21, 2006 – February 28, 2009
Wins vacant title
Succeeded by