Lethwei boxer Saw Darwait wins ONE debut with swift submission

Two expert practitioners of the ancient striking discipline of Lethwei made their cage debuts at ONE: HERO’S DREAM on Friday, 3 November. The bantamweight bout took place at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar.

Despite their primarily striking backgrounds, it did not take long for the match to go to the ground, and consequently end there. At just 41 seconds into the opening round, Saw Darwait surprised everyone watching by forcing Sit Mhan to submit to a rear-naked choke.

In fact, it was Sit Mhan who initially took the match to the ground after swinging aggressively with punches on the feet just moments earlier, but Saw Darwait quickly regained his footing and looked to close the distance with a body lock.

Sit Mhan managed to free himself from the driving clinch pressure of his Taung Ka Lay-trained opponent, but in doing so a bit too desperately, the 23-year-old briefly exposed his back and head. 

Saw Darwait used the opportunity to score some hard punches to the head of his Yoe Yar Bagan-based opponent’s head, standing him up and then sending him reeling backwards.

Saw Darwait rushed the staggered Sit Mhan, worked behind him, and pounced to secure his arms around the neck, fastening a tight choke on from behind. He then squeezed the hold as he dragged Sit Mhan to the mat, prompting the tapout.

This bout signalled both Lethwei competitors’ cage debuts, yet neither showed any hesitancy in their new surroundings, giving the Myanmar crowd a great deal of excitement in a short period of time.