By JAN CARLO ANOLIN
Team Lakay’s Lito Adiwang is ready to face all the top contenders in the strawweight division of ONE Championship.
“I’ll just try to train hard and be better,” said Adiwang, who submitted Thai foe Pongsiri Mitsatit last Friday night in ONE: Fire & Fury. “So paghahandaan ko kung sino man ang ibibigay.”
But if there’s one name that comes to mind, Adiwang wanted to challenge former two-time strawweight champion Yoshitaka Naito of Japan.
The 35-year-old Naito, known for his grappling skills, defeated Mitsatit last November via unanimous decision in his latest matchup.
It can be recalled that Joshua Pacio, the current champion and Adiwang’s teammate, bested Naito in five rounds during their second meeting for the belt last September 2018.
“Now that would be a great challenge,” Adiwang said of Naito.
Adiwang rides on a five-game win streak in the promotion, two from technical knockouts, a unanimous decision, a knockout in his 2018 debut and the latest via submission.
In the recent fight, Adiwang caught Mitsatit in the second attempt and locked him for a kimura finish at the 3:02 mark of the first round.
The 26-year-old fighter from Benguet wowed the Manila crowd by showing his signature aggressive fighting style, highlighted by a right leg kick that sent Mitsatit reeling.
“We had a tough training camp. But I’m happy I was able to go out there and perform. I wanted to give the Filipino fans a good show,” said Adiwang.
