Dave Leduc

The American challenger Cyrus Washington announced he was pulling out of the fight citing a hand injury he sustained during training. Following this news, Leduc's opponent changed to Thailand's very own Nilmungkorn Sudsakorn, to fight in full traditional Lethwei rules in Tokyo, Japan. Nilmungkron and Leduc exchanged words at the pre-fight press conference, where Nilmungkorn stated that he will win the first Japanese Lethwei Belt. The matchup was billed as Lethwei vs. Muaythai. Leduc was quoted saying "It’s lethwei versus Muaythai. I will finish Nilmungkorn off very quickly and show the world that lethwei is the most devastating form of striking".

I respect Cyrus a lot, he is a crafty veteran, he has fought some of the best fighters of the sport, but he has never fought anyone like me. I am not like the others, I’m the King of Lethwei and he wants a taste of the crown Leduc told in an interview.

On March 9, 2019, despite a long-running feud with the promotion, Leduc announced that he had signed an exclusive contract with the World Lethwei Championship. The exclusive contract would make it impossible for him to defend his various titles. On March 25, 2019, Leduc held a press conference at the Karaweik Palace in Yangon, Myanmar to announce that he was relinquishing three of his four Lethwei world titles. The three titles in question included the MLWC Title, Air KBZ Aung Lan Champion title and the ILFJ Openweight Lethwei World title, therefore remaining the Openweight Lethwei World Champion under traditional rules.

On August 2, 2019, Leduc faced UFC veteran Seth Baczynski at the WLC 9: King of Nine Limbs in Mandalay, Myanmar. Leduc landed an elbow strike which exploded Bacynski's left ear and then knocked him out with punches to win the inaugural Cruiserweight World Lethwei Championship.

After claiming the Myanmar Lethwei openweight belt, Leduc received offers from ONE Championship and other mixed martial arts organizations in Asia. However, he declined the offers, stating, "I need to stay focused on my thing. I like fighting with no gloves and with headbutts: that’s my passion.”

In 2019, Leduc and his wife Irina Terehova competed on The Amazing Race Canada Season 7. The couple quickly became the season's villain and received a lot of hate from Canadian viewers for their cutthroat way of racing.

On 19 August 2018, at his 3rd appearance at the MLWC and 8 months after his last fight, Leduc returned to face former Rajadamnern Stadiumand Lumpini Stadium champion Diesellek TopkingBoxing inside the Thein Pyu Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar. The matchup was mediatized as Lethwei vs Muaythai. With more than 200 fights to his record, Diesellek was the more experienced fighter of the two, with Leduc having only 24 fights. For this fight and for the first time in his career, Leduc flew his longtime trainer Sifu Patrick Marcil to Myanmar. Prior to the bout, Leduc said in an interview that he respected Diesellek's left kick, having knocked out current Lumpini Stadium and Rajadamnern Stadium champion Youssef Boughanem in brutal manner at Lumpini Stadium in 2012.

On December 16, 2018, the very anticipated third rematch between Tun Tun Min took place at the Air KBZ Aung Lan Golden Belt Championship in Yangon. The third fight saw Leduc fighting out of the red corner, the first time a foreigner has been able to do so in the history of Lethwei, as it is customary to have non-Burmese fighters come out of the blue corner. Tun Tun Min was fully recovered, but had tremendous difficulty with the distance control of Leduc. In the first round, Leduc landed a headbutt to the temple in clinch forcing the referee to make an 8-count. Shortly after, Leduc executed a jumping elbow and knocked out Tun Tun Min forcing his team to call for the precious timeout. Visibly frustrated at not being able to land on Dave as much as he would like, it even led him to attempt a flying roundhouse kick and other acrobatic feats in an attempt to slow down his rival. The later rounds saw both boxers vying for a finish but end without a knockout at the final bell and Leduc retained his title.

In 2017, Leduc's prison fight was featured in the Showtime documentary Prison fighters: 5 Rounds To Freedom. The film is narrated by Sons of Anarchy star Ron Perlman and aims at examining a controversial practice in Thailand's criminal justice system.

The journey to the world title was captured by the Canadian television Canal D as part of the French documentary La Fosse Aux Tigres, which aired in November 2017. The documentary follows Leduc training and traveling to Yangon to win the Lethwei world title. The movie was filmed in Canada, Thailand and Myanmar.

On February 16, 2017, for the second event organized by the International Lethwei Federation Japan Leduc headlined Lethwei in Japan 2 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo Dome City, Japan.

On April 18, 2017, for his second title defense, Leduc faced Turkish Australian fighter Adem Yilmaz at Lethwei in Japan 3 in Tokyo, Japan under traditional Lethwei rules.

On August 20, 2017, inside the Thuwunna National Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar, Leduc defended his openweight Lethwei world title against American fighter Cyrus Washington, making this his fourth title defence.

Leduc punished Jallon for the duration of the fight, opening deep cuts, and showcasing his signature headbutts in the clinch. The fight was declared a draw according to Lethwei rules and Leduc retained the openweight Lethwei World champion title. This fight marked his fifth consecutive title defence of 2017.

In 2017, Leduc expressed his disagreement on WLC's modern Lethwei rules via an open letter on social media. The WLC is using the modern Lethwei rules implemented in 1996, and removed controversial injury time-out.

After winning the world title, Leduc dedicated his career solely to Lethwei and has been at the forefront of the sport's rise in international popularity. Leduc expressed his hopes that Lethwei fighters will remain true to the traditions of the martial art as it grows in popularity. In 2017, Leduc helped the opening of gyms throughout the country and promoting Lethwei outside of Myanmar.

On 8 October 2017, Myint Htwe, Minister of Health and Sports of Myanmar, awarded Leduc with a certificate of honor in recognition for his efforts as a proponent of Myanmar's national sport, being on the forefront of Lethwei's expansion internationally.

As explained in South China Morning Post, after carving his way to the top of Lethwei, Leduc founded Leduc Lethwei. The first international team of fighters from Brazil and Costa Rica brought by Leduc Lethwei to Myanmar, was at the occasion of the Myanmar Lethwei World Championship in 2017.

Leduc's relationship and marriage to Terehova, who has been famous in her own right as a writer for MTL Blog, have contributed to his celebrity beyond Lethwei. In 2017, Leduc and his wife started getting involved with children at NLD AIDS center in Yangon, who are infected with HIV/AIDS virus, bringing them chocolate and treats, as well as giving undisclosed donations. Leduc adopted the Burmese lifestyle, and is often seen wearing a Longyi. This helped the Myanmar people welcome the idea of having a foreigner as the champion of their national sport.

In 2016, Myanmar's lack of training facilities led Leduc to leave everything behind and moved to Phuket, Thailand in order to train at Tiger Muaythai, Asia's biggest training camp. Leduc was invited to the 2016 Tiger Muaythai Tryouts and went on to win a spot on the professional fight team, along with teammate Dan Hooker.

On August 21, 2016, Leduc was invited to make his Lethwei debut at the 1st Myanmar Lethwei World Championship in Myanmar. He was set to fight in Burmese bareknuckle boxing rules, known as Lethwei, against the undefeated (34-0), 75 kg champion Too Too. Leduc took the country by storm by completely dominating the fight. The fight ended in a draw according to traditional Lethwei rules, but with his performance, Leduc won the heart of the Myanmar people.

On December 11, 2016, their very anticipated rematch took place at the Air KBZ Aung Lan Golden Belt Championship in Yangon, Myanmar. The two previously fought in October to a draw, but the rematch was sweetened by an added bonus: ownership of the Lethwei Golden Belt. Leduc opened the fight offensively, landing his signature fake roundhouse kick to sidekick and a counter elbow on Tun Tun Min's face soon after the opening bell. Following these attacks, the spectators witnessed an exceptional show of respect by Tun Tun Min, his usual bull rushing style was replaced by a noticeable slower pace. The round continued with aggressive attacks from both sides. Leduc was continually striking the knee of his opponent with his front kick, resulting in the weakening of his leg, Leduc executed multiple takedowns, with one injuring Tun Tun Min's right leg and forced his team to call his time-out. The third round continued with a visibly shaken Tun Tun Min. After a short exchange in the clinch followed by a final takedown, Tun Tun Min was not able to continue and forfeit. Leduc received the Golden Belt, becoming the first non-Burmese fighter to hold the Lethwei openweight world title.

In 2016, Leduc met Moldovan Canadian writer and model Irina Terehova when she traveled to Thailand. The two had never met before, but after writing a story on Leduc, Terehova decided to leave Canada and meet him in Phuket. The trip was supposed to last two weeks, but Terehova decided to stay and live with Leduc.

On October 12, 2016, Leduc got engaged to Terehova on the Shwesandaw Pagoda in Bagan, Myanmar. On December 13, 2016, the two were married on Leduc's birthday, in a traditional Burmese wedding ceremony in Yangon. The ceremony was nationally televised on MRTV with approximately 30 million viewers, only two days after his world championship title fight, catapulting them to celebrity status in Myanmar.

In 2014, Leduc made his pro debut against future UFC welterweight fighter Jonathan Meunier. Having never cut weight as an amateur, the fight was set at Leduc’s walking weight of 171lbs giving a noticeable size advantage to his opponent. Leduc lost the fight by referee stoppage in the first round and would return to the cage in November 2015 to face future Pancrase & ONE Championship title contender Koyomi Matsushima, this time attempting to drop down to 155lbs. Leduc stated his inexperience in cutting weight made him lose consciousness coming out of the sauna, resulting in him missing weight by 3lbs. Matsushima ultimately won via TKO into the first round.

On July 12, 2014, Leduc took part and won his fight in the controversial Prison Fight Thailand, where inmates can reduce their sentences and even earn their freedom by winning a series of Muay Thai fights against foreign fighters. The event took place in the maximum security Klong Pai Central Prison, in Nakhon Ratchasima, two hours north of Bangkok. Sanctioned by the Thai Department of Corrections, the event is portrayed as a way for inmates to battle their way to an early release. When it came to fighting convicts, Leduc said to the Bangkok Post that he wouldn't feel bad if he won and his rival's sentence weren't reduced. Leduc explained to Argentinian news Infobae the mentality of the inmates at the Prison Fight Thailand events, saying:

In 2013, Leduc started fighting amateur MMA in Canada and went undefeated in three fights, winning two of them by guillotine choke. His most recent win was against Tristar Gym fighter and Georges St-Pierre's protege, Yukinori Akazawa, which he won by unanimous decision.

In 2013, Lethwei being illegal in the province of Quebec and having difficulty getting a fight in Myanmar, Leduc went on his first trip to Thailand to begin his professional career. At the age of 21, he won his first Muay Thai fight, defeating a South Korean opponent by TKO.

In 2011, at nineteen years old, Leduc was managing a nightclub and owned his own limousine company, but in 2016 he decided to sell everything he owned and make his permanent move to Asia.

Dave Leduc (born 13 December 1991) is a Canadian Lethwei fighter who competes in the World Lethwei Championship. He is the current Openweight Lethwei World Champion and current WLC Cruiserweight World Champion. Leduc gained widespread notoriety by becoming the first Quebecer and Canadian to win in the controversial Prison Fight in Thailand. In 2016, he became the first non-Burmese fighter to win a Lethwei Golden belt, by defeating Tun Tun Min at the Aung Lan Championship in Yangon. The same year, he married Russian Moldovan writer and model Irina Terehova in a nationally televised wedding ceremony with approximately 30 million viewers in Myanmar.