Lito Adiwang aiming for a good start to 2025 with win over Keito Yamakita: “One of the toughest fights in the division” 

'Thunder Kid' Lito Adiwang is going into 2025 with a winner's mindset, and he might just kick the year off with a statement win against 'Pocket Monk' Keito Yamakita as they meet in the iconic Lumpinee Stadium at ONE Fight Night 28.

Adiwang, a known striker, has been diligently working on rounding off his skills and is eager to show off his upgraded repertoire of ground skills against the Japanese wrestler.

The upcoming bout marks Adiwang's long-awaited opportunity to go up against a ranked opponent. If the night goes according to his plans, 'Thunder Kid' could finally break into the strawweight MMA rankings and set himself up for a strong 2025 campaign.

Speaking with Nissi Icasiano of The MMA Superfan, Lito Adiwang reflected on his previous struggles with weight cutting. He said:

"Looking at the top 5 right now, Keito is one of the toughest fights in the division already. I fought Hiroba (Minowa) already and I think the errors lie on my side. I'll have to admit that I had a difficult time making weight at the time. I had the wrong approach to cutting weight."

Watch the full interview here:

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Lito Adiwang is happy to draw long-time target Keito Yamakita at ONE Fight Night 28

'Thunder Kid' Lito Adiwang and 'Pocket Monk' Keito Yamakita had been bound for a showdown for quite some time. Unfortunately, various circumstances saw this fated match-up fail to materialize... until now.

In a recent interview with The MMA Superfan, Adiwang speaks of his fated match-up with Yamakita:

"It's the perfect time for me to return, and I got my wish of fighting someone in the top five of the rankings. I think it's the second or third time that Keito and I were tried to be matched together, and it's finally our time to face each other.

ONE Fight Night 28 will air life in US primetime on Friday, February 7.