The Lethwei Golden Belt Championship turns thirty this year. The Royal-D Golden Belt Championship 2026 will be held at Thein Phyu Lethwei Stadium in Yangon, with the semi-finals on Sunday 6 September and the finals on Sunday 20 September, both starting at 1:00 PM. It is the twelfth edition of the tournament, and it falls thirty years after the first championship of 1996.
The event is held under the Myanmar Lethwei Federation and organised by the Sai Zaw Zaw Group, with the electrolyte drink Royal-D as title sponsor.
The 2026 Format: Six Divisions, Four Fighters Each
The championship will be contested in six weight divisions: 51, 54, 57, 60, 63.5 and 67 kg. Each division has four fighters, so every bracket begins at the semi-finals on 6 September, and the two winners meet in the final on 20 September.
This is a smaller bracket than in the past. Earlier editions began at the quarter-finals with eight fighters per division. The organiser, U Sai Zaw Zaw, says the reduction to four is a matter of logistics.
The divisions are also narrower than before. The 1996 championship crowned nine champions, up to an above-75 kg class. The 2015 to 2019 editions topped out at 71 kg, and 2018 and 2019 included a women’s division at 53 kg. The 2026 field goes no higher than 67 kg and has no women’s division.
On 5 September the fighters will be weighed in, and the semi-final pairings will be drawn by lot in front of the coaches.
The Field
| Division | Fighters (club) |
| 51 kg | Gawbaka (Warriors) · Aung Ko Oo (YKB) · Salai Htan Khwee Shein (Kyar Ma Naing) · Sithu Phyo (Doe’ Yoe Yar) |
| 54 kg | Ko Ko (Cement Factory) · Naing Aung Shin (Khay Yu War) · Mya Lone Chaw (Sein Lak Thee) · Aung Tun Bo (Doe’ Yoe Yar) |
| 57 kg | Aung Kaung (Cement Factory) · Kyaw Wai Yan Tun (Top One) · Aung Htet Oo (Doe’ Yoe Yar) · Africa (Nagaman) |
| 60 kg | Aung Zaw Moe (Cement Factory) · Si Toe (Khay Yu War) · Thant Zin (Taw Win Ayar) · Dawna Hein (Warriors) |
| 63.5 kg | Htoo Ka Nyaw (YKB) · Ba Soe Wunna (Zar Htet) · Kyal Sin Tun (Warriors) · Ye Lin Oo (Vanguard) |
| 67 kg | Tun Naing Oo (STL) · Shin Htet (Zar Htet) · A Phoe Thway (Khay Yu War) · Ka Nyaw Khwar (Cement Factory) |
A First for the Golden Belt: the Two-Minute Special Rest
Lethwei has long allowed a knocked-down fighter one chance to recover. In today’s challenge fights, each fighter may take a single two-minute timeout between the first and fourth rounds, during which his corner can revive him. If he can continue, the fight goes on. No timeout is allowed in the final round.
When the scored-tournament format was created for the Golden Belt in 1996, that recovery mechanism was left out to keep up the events’ pace. Every Golden Belt Championship since has been fought without it.
The 2026 edition brings it in. For the first time in its history, the Golden Belt Championship will include the two-minute revival rule. The rule is explained in full in our guide to Lethwei rules.
Why the Golden Belt Is Not Just Another Belt
Promotions inside and outside Myanmar award their own belts, and to a newcomer the Golden Belt can look like one more of them. It is different in three ways.
It is the national championship, the official nationwide tournament of the Myanmar Lethwei Federation, open to fighters from any club in the country.
It created modern Lethwei – the first championship in 1996 introduced weight classes, judging and scoring, five rounds, and usage of a single referee instead of two, and the formats that followed were built on that framework.
And the title is for life. A promotion’s champion holds his belt until he loses it; a Golden Belt Champion is never replaced, and each edition adds new names to a roll of champions that only grows. In September, six more will join it.
Read more: The Story of the First Ever Lethwei Golden Belt Championship · The History of the Lethwei Golden Belt Championship · How the Openweight Champion Differs from the Golden Belt Champion
Event Details
- Semi-finals: Sunday 6 September 2026, 1:00 PM
- Finals: Sunday 20 September 2026, 1:00 PM
- Venue: Thein Phyu Lethwei Stadium, Yangon
- Weigh-in and draw: 5 September 2026
- Divisions: 51, 54, 57, 60, 63.5 and 67 kg
- Tickets: 20,000, 10,000 and 5,000 kyat
- Sanctioned by: Myanmar Lethwei Federation · Organised by: Sai Zaw Zaw Group · Title sponsor: Royal-D
