Lito Adiwang says Rodtang’s Muay Thai pressure will help him claim a win in kickboxing bout

ONE strawweight contender Lito Adiwang has given his prediction for Rodtang Jitmaungnon’s upcoming fight.

At ONE Fight Night 6 on Prime Video, Rodtang will make his first appearance of the year when he faces Jiduo Yibu in a kickboxing bout.

Previously scheduled to face Daniel Puertas on the same card, he was given a change of opponent after the Spanish striker stepped up to face Superlek Kiatmoo9 for the vacant ONE flyweight kickboxing world championship.

Former titleholder and original Superlek opponent Alaverdi Ramazanov relinquished the belt after not being able to make the flyweight limit of 135 pounds while hydrated.

In an interview with The MMA Super Fan, Lito Adiwang spoke about how the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion’s dominance will carry over to kickboxing:

“I visualize this fight going to a decision, not actually a finish. This is going to be a decision, especially with some of Rodtang’s attacks and finishes coming from the Muay Thai pressure and not from the kickboxing style.”

He added:

“This fight, they’re fighting in a kickboxing match. I visualize this match going to a decision but I think Rodtang will just demolish and take all the rounds here. Three rounds all Rodtang.”

Adiwang has been out of competition since March last year after suffering a knee injury in his contest with Jeremy Miado.

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“It’s hard to overcome this type of injury” - Lito Adiwang talks about the mental hurdles of an ACL tear

Lito Adiwang has always been known for the frenetic energy that comes out of him when he steps inside the circle. Suffering a major injury in his last fight, all of the movement and motion was taken away from him as he was forced to sit on the sidelines.

The Filipino fighter tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee during his bout against fellow Filipino fighter Jeremy Miado at ONE X in March last year.

The injury has kept him out of the competition for nearly an entire year but he has admitted in the past that the worst part of the process was not the physical pain that he was in.

With the anxiety looming over his head that it could massively impact his career or become worse, he revealed in an interview with ONE Championship that even basic daily tasks became moments of real worry.

Once doctors told him that they have repaired his ACL and termed it as stronger than before, Adiwang was able to ease back into a calm state over time.

Lito Adiwang said:

“Actually, I did have some mental fear in the first few weeks. It’s hard to overcome this type of injury, especially on the mental side of things. I have never experienced anything like this before. Simple things like sitting down and standing up, tying my shoelaces, were a struggle.”

He added:

“But when the doctor told me that they completely fixed my knee and that it’s now stronger than it was before, it gave me more confidence, and I was able to overcome the fear inside of me.”

As expected, Adiwang and Miado produced a good fight while the contest lasted. Upon taking a step back during the fight, a freak injury happened. Unaware of what had actually happened, Miado jumped on the opportunity and got the finish.

It was an unfortunate end to an otherwise thrilling match but the road to recovery for Lito Adiwang is close to reaching its end.