Lito Adiwang believes that his quest for revenge and redemption could be a defining characteristic in a huge fight for the flyweight MMA division. Former world champion Demetrious Johnson announced his retirement at ONE 168, which left the division wide open for someone else to seize the throne.
For many, multiple-time former world champion Adriano Moraes sprung to mind considering that he took part in an iconic trilogy bout with Johnson in his last outing.
'Mikinho' will look to return to the win column when he faces another man who is motivated by turning the tables, however, in Danny Kingad.
The two flyweight MMA contenders will meet at ONE 169 on Nov. 8 where Adiwang predicts that Kingad will be the more hungry of the two.
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Given both men's longevity in this division, it's no surprise that they've crossed paths once before many years ago.
Moraes got his hand raised on that occasion, beating Kingad with a rear-naked choke submission back in November 2017.
Adiwang told Sportskeeda MMA that in his opinion, the fact that Kingad's defeat happened more recently will give him more motivation to come out on top in this rematch:
"For me, I think the one who is fresh off a loss has more fire to get the win back. Because you can feel the sting of losing still, and you know what you did wrong so you want to rectify it."
A factor like the one Lito Adiwang suggested could be crucial
Lito Adiwang isn't wrong to point out that small factors can go on to have a big impact when you're talking about elite-level competitors.
Adriano Moraes and Danny Kingad have been there, done it, and seen it all under the ONE Championship banner.
Their upcoming rematch at the Lumpinee Stadium on Nov. 8 could have big implications for the flyweight MMA division.
With both men having so much to gain, you can expect a high-level chess match between them at ONE 169.