“My killer instinct is back” - Lito Adiwang’s ruthless determination at its peak heading into ONE Fight Night 28

Filipino MMA fighter Lito Adiwang worked on regaining his killer instinct in the ring coming from a long layoff because of a knee injury. He believes it is fully back and looking to showcase it in his scheduled return to action next week.

'Thunder Kid' is set to compete at ONE Fight Night 28: Prajanchai vs. Barboza on Prime Video on Feb. 8 at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, in a strawweight MMA match against Japanese Keito Yamakita.

Speaking on The MMA Superfan, the 31-year-old SOMA Fight Club affiliate touched on his preparation for his upcoming fight, including how his "ferocity" is back.

Lito Adiwang said:

"The last time in my comeback fight, I was just there so focused on winning. But my killer instinct wasn’t there, I feel like that went away when I was injured. Now, I’ve built it up again, so my killer instinct is back and my confidence. I hope it really works well in this fight."

Watch the interview below:

Lito Adiwang was out of commission for a year and a half after injuring his knee in March 2022 in his match against fellow Filipino fighter Jeremy Miado.

He made a successful return to competition in September 2023 with a 23-second TKO of Indonesian fighter Adrian Mattheis. He then followed it up with two more victories by decision over Miado in their rematch in November of the same year and Australian-Thai fighter Danial WIlliams in February last year.

Out to clip his streak is Yamakita, winner of his last two matches and three of four fights to date in ONE Championship.

ONE Fight Night 28 is available live and for free at U.S. primetime to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

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Lito Adiwang braces for tough challenge from Keito Yamakita

Lito Adiwang is expecting to have a battle with Keito Yamakita in their featured strawweight MMA clash at ONE Fight Night 28 on Feb. 8. He, however, assured that they have a game plan to address it.

He shared this in an interview with The MMA Superfan, saying:

"I’ll admit that it’s going to be an exhausting fight for me. So right now, half of my training is focused on how to play with him on the ground and how to control him on the fight itself. The other half, we had to focus. I admit that in the first round I’m 100 percent, but it gradually goes down."

Adiwang started his ONE Championship journey in 2019, winning nine of 12 matches, including the last three.