“Jarred Brooks made me a better fighter” – Lito Adiwang looks at the positive side of his loss to Jarred Brooks

Lito Adiwang is one of the fastest-rising stars in ONE Championship. While he has fallen out of the top five in the ultra-competitive strawweight division, he has proven to be one of the most exciting fighters to watch in the Circle.

‘The Thunder Kid’ suffered his first loss in the promotion at the end of 2020 but bounced back nicely with back-to-back wins earlier this year. At ONE: NextGen III, Lito Adiwang figured in his first main event billing against promotional newcomer Jarred Brooks.

Brooks has primarily competed in North America and had some bouts in Japan and Russia as well. ‘The Monkey God’ announced his arrival to his new stage in a big way by stopping Lito Adiwang in the second round of their bout.

Despite the loss, the 28-year-old Team Lakay firecracker remains in high spirits. In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Lito Adiwang spoke optimistically about his last match.

“I believe that Jarred Brooks made me a better fighter. I’ve learned a lot from him. I’ve also learned a lot about myself. I found out that no matter how hard I try to improve, I have to continuously double my efforts because there will be better people out there.”

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Wrestling to become a focus for Lito Adiwang

Lito Adiwang earned his nickname from his thunderous strikes. While he’s also shown some skill on the ground, he couldn’t get anything going against Brooks in their match.

The American dominated the Team Lakay product for much of the match as he took down Lito Adiwang at will with his wrestling skills. It was a bit of a wake-up call for the Filipino.

“I know for a fact that I’ve worked hard on my wrestling, but when you compare it to someone like him who’s been wrestling all his life and who continues to polish his skills, then my improvements are already mitigated.”

Lito Adiwang has shown the ability to learn from his defeats, as he has never lost back-to-back matches in his career. Losing the way that he did to Brooks has only motivated him to improve his wrestling game to raise his game even higher.

“Now, I know the level that I have to catch up to when it comes to wrestling. I think I’m alright with our submission game, but when it comes to wrestling and control, it’s something that I truly have to work on. That’s the next step that I have to reach. I have to reach that level.”