“I was really hoping that it was not a bad injury but apparently it was” - Lito Adiwang to have surgery following injury vs. Jeremy Miado at ONE X

Lito Adiwang will undergo surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. The strawweight contender suffered the injury in his match against fellow Filipino Jeremy Miado at ONE X late last March.

In an interview with GMA, Adiwang said he was hoping that his injury wasn’t as severe but that he has no choice but to accept the predicament he’s in.

Adiwang had control for much of the fight but suddenly felt a stinging pain in his right knee in the second round. Unable to continue, Adiwang ultimately lost via technical knockout.

Nevertheless, the Team Lakay fighter is taking a brighter approach to his injury.

Lito Adiwang said:

“This is totally unexpected. I was really hoping that it was not a bad injury but apparently it was. I need to accept and overcome. I really believe everything happens for a reason, and maybe the reason for this is I need to be hungrier.”

Miado and Adiwang were both on a tear in the division heading into their match-up at ONE X. Miado’s last three wins were stoppages, one of which saw him knockout Miao Li Tao, while Adiwang also had three knockout wins in his last six bouts.

While both can talk a big game, Adiwang and Miado didn’t need to cut promos to hype the fight up. Their match, however, came to a crashing halt after 'Thunder Kid' suffered an injury prompting referee Olivier Coste to stop the match 2:56 into the second round.

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ONE Championship to shoulder Lito Adiwang’s surgery cost

Lito Adiwang revealed that ONE Championship will shoulder the financial cost of the surgery. He said that the promotion quickly took action to help him with the medical procedure.

He also assured his supporters that he’ll be fine and that he’ll come back better than ever.

“I want to thank ONE Championship for taking care of their athletes. We received their reply that they are going to handle the surgery. I am very thankful. To my fans and followers, I am still here. Keep the faith. The best we can do now is pray,” said Adiwang.

Adiwang, who has seven knockouts and four submissions to his name, added that his injury is just ‘a minor setback’ and there’s no way he’ll stop in his mixed martial arts journey.

“Once I am done with the surgery, I will push myself to get back to fighting again. I want to be a better and even more exciting Thunder Kid. I will do my best to recover quickly and be back as soon as possible. This is a minor setback, I have big dreams, and I would not let this stop me."