Professional mixed martial artist Phoe “Bushido” Thaw, 36, of Yangon, Myanmar was recently arrested. He and three others were accused of colluding to commit violent acts.

On May 5, 2021, Phoe suffered leg injuries due to a home-made bomb explosion at his gym Team PT in Yangon. The incident was reported by Myawaddy TV, a television network owned by the armed forces of Myanmar called the Tatmadaw.

Phoe was accused of testing the bomb when it exploded but several sources told BJPENN.com that the allegations against the Burmese MMA fighter are not likely to be true. A source also told Reuters that it was a police officer posing as a civilian who had left the bomb at the park of the gym.

One of the biggest stars of ONE Championship is “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang, 35, of Myitkina, Kachin, Myanmar. He is a former champion of the promotion’s middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.

Aung is currently based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. He took to Twitter to react to the news about Phoe’s involvement in the recent bombing incident in Yangon.

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As a professional MMA fighter, Phoe competed in the Singapore-based martial arts organization ONE Championship from July 18, 2015 to October 12, 2019. He currently holds a professional MMA record of 8 wins and 2 losses.

Prior to the explosion, Phoe was one of the Burmese citizens who were openly protesting against the Tatmadaw. He was arrested while he was being treated in a hospital, the Tatmadaw announced on May 6, 2021.

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On February 1, 2021, the Tatmadaw deposed democratically elected members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the ruling party of Myanmar. Along with ministers, their deputies and parliament members, the country’s president Win Myint and state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi were detained.

Proclaiming a year-long state of emergency, the Tatmadaw declared that power had been transferred to Myanmar’s defense services commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing. As of May 6, 2021, Burmese military or police forces have arrested, charged or sentenced 3,638 protesters and bystanders, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

The reigning strawweight champion of ONE Championship is Joshua “The Passion” Pacio, 25, of Baguio City, Philippines. He trains out of Team Lakay in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines.

Pacio has been competing in ONE Championship since 2016. He currently holds a professional MMA record of 19 wins and 3 losses.