AFTER suffering a close split decision loss in November last year, Team Lakay's Lito Adiwang vowed to be more active this year as he seeks to return to his winning ways.
Adiwang dropped a close split decision to Japan's Hiroba Minowa back in November, and as a result, lost his #5 ranking in the ONE Championship men's strawweight division.
It was the first loss for Adiwang since he joined the promotion, which also saw his 7-fight winning streak snapped.
Still, the Team Lakay strawweight is extra motivated to make a triumphant return to action this year, and promises to showcase all of the hard lessons he learned throughout the year in his next performance.
"2020 has taught me a lot of lessons, some good, some bad. Nevertheless, I consider it all worthwhile experiences. It has definitely been a challenging and colorful year for me," said Adiwang.
Adiwang said one of the biggest lessons he learned is to be prepared for any and all situations and argued that it was better for him to lose now, than to do so when he's at the top.
Still, Adiwang has a bevy of top strawweight opponents to face in the Circle next year. The biggest names include former ONE World Title challenger and fellow Filipino, Rene Catalan. Former ONE World Champions Alex Silva, Yoshitaka Naito, and Yosuke Saruta, and so forth.
For Adiwang, however, it hardly matters who he's in the Circle with, because he plans on taking his game to the next level. "Thunder Kid" promises fans they can expect a more mature fighter in 2021, one that has rededicated himself to reaching his ultimate goal of becoming champion.
"Fans should watch out for my next fight. I plan to bounce back with an impressive win, and remind everyone why they should keep an eye on me. Expect a better, stronger, and wiser Thunder Kid next time. Definitely, surviving and learning from all the challenges and setbacks that came my way, both in and out of the Circle, has made me a better person, a better fighter," said Adiwang.
Adiwang also vowed to be more active in 2021 and become a world champion. (Roderick Osis)