“To prepare for fights like this” – Lito Adiwang says dangerous strawweight contenders forced him to rethink career outlook

Filipino fighter Lito Adiwang knows he is competing in a stacked division in ONE Championship. That is why he decided to go abroad to shore up his skills to better compete with the best in the strawweight MMA lane.

The 30-year-old Baguio City native is currently training full time under Bali-based Soma Fight Club, where he said he has been learning a lot. He is looking to showcase his newfound knowledge in his ONE assignments, including the one set for later this week.

‘Thunder Kid’ will be going up against Australian-Thai fighter Danial Williams in a featured strawweight MMA showdown at ONE Fight Night 19 on Prime Video on February 16 in Bangkok, Thailand.

It is part of a nine-fight offering happening at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium and airing live in US primetime, free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America.

Speaking to ONE Championship in an interview, Lito Adiwang shared the significance of now being part of Soma Fight Club at this stage of his ONE journey, saying:

“I know they [the strawweight ranked fighters] bring a lot of different things to the table, but that’s why I’m working hard abroad, to prepare for fights like this [Williams fight].”

At ONE Fight Night 19, Lito Adiwang is seeking to make it three straight victories since returning from an ACL injury in September.

His first win back was over Indonesian Adrian Mattheis, who he stopped by TKO just 23 seconds into their showdown. He then followed it up with a unanimous decision victory over compatriot Jeremy Miado in November. Incidentally, it was against Miado where Adiwang injured his knee in their first encounter in March 2022.

Williams, meanwhile, is out to break from a three-fight slide, the last two in kickboxing world title fights.

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Lito Adiwang seeks more success under Soma Fight Club

Now competing fully under Soma Fight Club in Bali, Indonesia, Filipino fireball Lito Adiwang is looking to achieve more success as he advances in his ONE Championship campaign.

The ONE Warriors series product started his ONE journey as part of Team Lakay from Baguio, Philippines, which he was part of for at least five years. Last year, as he sought to expand his horizons as a fighter, he decided to leave. He first landed with HIIT Studio in Bali and then found his way to Soma Fight Club before 2023 ended.

Lito Adiwang shared to ONE in an interview that his move to Soma Fight Club was a decision he was confident of making and high on.

He said:

“The positive thing about it is you get to be out of your comfort zone. You meet new athletes, you talk to different coaches, international coaches, expert strikers, wrestlers and grapplers, those are the positive things that I’m taking.”

‘Thunder Kid’ will be kicking off his 2024 campaign under his new camp at ONE Fight Night 19 on Prime Video on February 16 in Thailand against Australian-Thai fighter Danial Williams.