“I am ready for the belt” - Lito Adiwang sets his sights on Jarred Brooks rematch for strawweight MMA gold

Lito Adiwang’s confidence is at an all-time high, so much so that he’s calling his shot for a potential showdown with ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks.

The Filipino star is coming off an impressive unanimous decision win over Jeremy Miado at ONE Fight Night 16 this past weekend at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

Following his victory, Adiwang told ONE Championship commentator Mitch Chilson that he's ready for a shot at gold.

Adiwang said:

“I think I am ready for the belt, yeah. I just need to get back, get better and yeah. Especially now I have made the sacrifice, I have moved out from the Philippines, went out to Bali, and yeah. I got all that I needed, I got all the coaches that I needed, the training partners, and everything. So I think it was just proper preparation. I'm all already there.”

‘Thunder Kid’s’ win over Miado was his second straight after his return from a knee injury he suffered in March 2022.

Coincidentally, Miado and Adiwang’s bout in Bangkok was a rematch of the botched encounter where Adiwang tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee at ONE X.

That injury sidelined Adiwang for 18 months before making his return earlier this year in September when he knocked out Adrian Mattheis in 23 seconds at ONE Friday Fights 34.

Although his latest win went beyond the time he took to dispatch Mattheis, Adiwang’s explosiveness was still on full display against Miado.

Adiwang nearly finished Miado in the first round, but ‘The Jaguar’ was able to weather the ground-and-pound assault and survive throughout the entire three-round bout.

If Adiwang strings enough wins or even gets an outright challenge, then his world title challenge against Brooks will be the second time he faces the American star.

Brooks, before he claimed the ONE strawweight MMA world title, submitted Adiwang at ONE: NextGen III in November 2021.