ONE: Adiwang eyes statement win after heartbreaker

Team Lakay’s Lito Adiwang celebrates his latest win. INQUIRER PHOTO/TRISTAN TAMAYO

MANiLA, Philippines — Ahead of his return on Friday in Singapore, Lito Adiwang wants to make sure he stays on track for a potential rematch against Koha Minowa.

An impressive win over Namiki Kawahara would do the trick for Adiwang, who is eager to make a statement in ONE: Unbreakable, the promotion’s first event of the new year.

“He really wants a rematch the moment he learned about the result. This means he really, really wants to win,” said Team Lakay coach Mark Sangiao.

“Looking at him during training, I can see he’s on fire and very motivated to win.”

Adiwang suffered a painful loss to Minowa in his previous bout last November that snapped his seven-fight winning streak.

Though Adiwang would’ve preferred a rematch against Minowa right away, the Team Lakay rising star knows testing his mettle against Kawahara is another opportunity for him to climb higher in the rankings.

“Honestly, I’ll be more motivated and hungry fighting Minowa because I want to prove a point. That loss was hard for me to accept at first,” Adiwang said.

“But I’m still excited for this fight especially that we’re up against a Japanese fighter again. We need to make a point that we’re on the same level as them.”