‘I’m in a better place’ – Lito Adiwang considers his knee injury a ‘blessing in disguise’

When Lito Adiwang suffered a knee injury during his strawweight showdown with fellow Filipino slugger Jeremy Miado at ONE: X last year, he thought that he would not be the same fighter as he was before the unfortunate incident.

However, after over a year of recovery and rehabilitation, the explosive Filipino fighter not only went back to the winner’s circle but sent a strong statement to all contenders in the strawweight division following a 23-second TKO finish of Adrian Mattheis last September at ONE Friday Fights 34.

The ‘Thunder Kid’ listed his seventh ONE Championship career win in 10 bouts. He believes that his injury was a big part of his revenge tour, and it set a direct course for a possible shot at the world title.

Adiwang revealed this in an interview with ONE Championship, where he stated:

“Compared to last year and now, despite the injury, I think I’m in a better place. It’s a blessing, especially after what I went through, and I’m still here getting to train at the top level, working with great coaches and fighters who can help me out in improving my game.”

The now-HIIT Studio representative is now at the tail end of his preparation for his rematch with ‘The Jaguar’ as they will be the curtain-raiser of the stacked ONE Fight Night 16 card on November 3, which goes down inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Despite the quick turnaround from his previous fight, Adiwang is looking to avenge his loss to Miado and for an opportunity to get back in the top five rankings of the weight class, thus inching closer to a world title shot.

Aside from his latest triumph over Mattheis, the 30-year-old Filipino also holds a victory against Senzo Ikeda, Pongsiri Mitsatit, Namiki Kawahara, and Hexigetu.

ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade on Prime Video will air live on US Primetime free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America.