The Contender Asia was a reality-based television series that follows 16 aspiring Muay Thai middleweight fighters from 12 countries as they compete in a series of outdoor challenges and sanctioned matches. The series is a deviation from the original Contender series, which involved boxing. The winner received US$150,000 and bragging rights as “The Contender Champion”. The program was hosted by Vice President of World Muay Thai Council and former World Champion Stephen Fox and Jaymee Ong. The second season has been announced on its official website. Production will begin in late September 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with 16 fighters vying for the title and a bigger cash prize, which the producers say as “the highest prize money ever to be paid out in the sport of Muay Thai.”