Photo from ONE Championship
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines suffered a pair of blackeyes in ONE Championship’s Next Gen III in Singapore late Friday night.
Lito Adiwang, Team Lakay’s resurgent strawweight faltered against the debuting Jarred Brooks by way of arm triangle in the second round in the main event at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The Filipino striker found himself groping for control early as the UFC veteran immediately brought the action onto the ground.
Adiwang battled more of the same in the second round where his loudmouthed opponent slammed him, paving the way for the finishing choke which also snapped the former’s back-to-back victories this year.
“Lito will surely snap back,” Team Lakay ringmaster Mark Sangiao wrote right after the tape-delayed showpiece. “To be unsuccessful is not fatal, [being] incapable of learning is.”
The loss doomed Adiwang to a 13-4 record, which could also mean implications in his status as the 5th-ranked contender in his weight class.
Team Lakay will have a shot at redemption when it sends a four-man contingent composed of veterans and youngsters to ONE’s year-ending showcase next month.
Meanwhile, Rene Catalan continues to have no answer for the puzzle that is former strawweight champion Alex Silva.
Unable to land a combination, Catalan found himself down on the mat where he made an unsightly thing to see by his Silva, who laced a slick armbar that would also extend his mastery of the Catalan family.
Catalan fell to a 6-5 slate, plunging him to a three-match slide in the Asian promotion.
In the co-main event, former bantamweight kickboxing champion Alaverdi Ramazanov made light work of Pongsiri PK. Saenchai Muaythaigy, landing a crisp uppercut to swiftly wrap up their Muay Thai bout in the first round.