“He needs to familiarize himself” – Lito Adiwang confident Takeru will make an impact after he’s settled in at ONE

Filipino strawweight fighter Lito Adiwang believes Japanese superstar Takeru Segawa will bounce back from the tough loss he absorbed in his ONE Championship debut last month once he gets a better feel of fighting under the promotion.

‘The Natural Born Crusher’ fell short in his bid to become an outright ONE champion in his debut against flyweight Muay Thai king Superlek Kiatmoo9 on January 28 in Japan.

Takeru had his moments in the contest, particularly in the third round where he pummeled ‘The Kickboxing Machine’ with a barrage of punches. In the end, however, Superlek earned the nod of judges for his overall control of the match en route to the unanimous decision win.

In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Lito Adiwang shared his thoughts on the performance of Takeru and how he sees the Japanese star’s ONE journey moving forward.

‘Thunder Kid’ said:

“Takeru is a worldwide superstar, a well-known champion, he’s a very, very good kickboxer. From what I saw with Takeru, [I think] he needs to familiarize himself, get more fights here at ONE Championship. But I’m really super happy with his performance.”

A great performance is also what Lito Adiwang looks to have when he returns to action next week at ONE Fight Night 19 on Prime Video.

The 30-year-old Soma Fight Camp affiliate will go up against Australian-Thai fighter Danial Williams in a featured strawweight MMA clash in the event happening at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on February 16.

Adiwang is looking to make it three straight victories since returning to action from a knee injury in September.

ONE Fight Night 19 will air live in US primetime, free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America.

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Lito Adiwang seeking more success under new camp

Lito Adiwang is now fully competing under Bali-based Soma Fight Club, with which he hopes to achieve more success in ONE Championship.

Thunder Kid started out with Team Lakay from Baguio, Philippines, which he was part of for at least five years. Then, last year, seeking to expand his horizons as a fighter, he decided to leave. He first joined HIIT Studio in Bali and then found his way to Soma Fight Club before 2023 ended.

Under Soma Fight Club, Adiwang said he has learned new things that he has incorporated into his game. He shared to ONE Championship in an interview:

“The positive thing about it is you get to be out of your comfort zone. You meet new athletes, you talk to different coaches, international coaches, expert strikers, wrestlers and grapplers, those are the positive things that I’m taking.”

ONE Warriors Series product Adiwang will begin his 2024 campaign on February 16 at ONE Fight Night 19 on Prime Video in Thailand, where he will battle Australian-Thai fighter Danial Williams in a strawweight MMA showdown.