Lito Adiwang knew he paid a hefty price for pushing himself past his limits.
The Filipino spitfire nursed multiple injuries before his return to action to square off against Keito Yamakita in a pivotal strawweight MMA clash at ONE Fight Night 28 this Friday, US primetime, at the historic Lumpinee Stadium.
In an interview with Nick Atkin, Adiwang revealed that he didn't properly take time off after beating Danial Williams at ONE Fight Night 24 at ONE Fight Night 19.
Adiwang said he jumped right back to training at Soma Fight Club in Bali, Indonesia but his decision backfired after he sustained multiple injuries that forced him to the sidelines.
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Nevertheless, 'Thunder Kid' is back in full form and ready to deliver another showstopper that fans have been accustomed to expect from him.
"No. Truly after the fight, I jumped right back into training to prepare, and yeah, I want to be active but, yeah, unfortunately, we cannot…after the fight, I had some injuries that I needed to check. But now I’m healthy and I’m back," said Lito Adiwang.
Now back in peak shape, Adiwang can't wait to re-establish his presence in the volatile strawweight MMA division and extend his winning streak to four fights.
Adiwang is coming off a hat trick of wins at the expense of Adrian Mattheis, fellow Filipino mauler Jeremy Miado, and Williams ahead of ONE Fight Night 28.
He'll now take on Yamakita's grappling-heavy style in Bangkok in hopes of pushing his momentum further.
Yamakita is the fourth-ranked contender in the strawweight MMA division and is coming off two straight wins over Miado and former ONE strawweight MMA world champion Yosuke Saruta.
ONE Fight Night 28 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
Lito Adiwang reflects on the importance of rest and recovery following his bouts with injuries
There's no question that Lito Adiwang is one of the hardest-working fighters on the planet.
That drive, however, forced Adiwang to sit out most of 2024 after he suffered multiple injuries for neglecting rest and recovery.
In an interview with ONE Championship, Adiwang said:
"It’s still a good thing. It means the training is really intense as we get close to the fight, but we can’t really avoid those things sometimes. I just have to be mindful to not be too eager to come back."