ONE: Loss to veteran Jared Brooks ‘eye opener’ for Lito Adiwang
Lito Adiwang vs Jared Brooks. ONE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Lito Adiwang’s first headliner of his career ended in disappointment after he tapped out to UFC veteran Jared Brooks in ONE: NEXTGEN III last Friday.
Despite the loss, the match was still a realized dream for Adiwang and he came out of Singapore with lessons learned.
“This match was an eye-opener for me,” said Adiwang. “The biggest lesson that I took home after facing Brooks was that in this high level of competition, one mistake, no matter how small it is, can cost you a million. So you really need to be with yourself, to be 100-percent focused mentally and physically.”
Adiwang (13-4) got subjected to Brooks’ superior grappling in their bout at Singapore Indoor Stadium but the Team Lakay star knew that the fight could still have gone either way.
Jarred Brooks 🇺🇸 puts the ONE strawweight division ON NOTICE by submitting Lito Adiwang in the second round! 👀 @The_monkeygod #ONENextGen3 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/JHUSk2VAgL
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) November 26, 2021
Before getting held down on the ground, Adiwang felt that Brooks was running out of gas and a clean strike could’ve made the difference in the fight.
“I knew I was about to finish him. It was clear that he was running out of air every time he held me down and that’s why I was letting him pin me down, for him to get tired,” said Adiwang. Then I’d capitalize and finish him. But he was lucky to get that submission before I got to end the game.”
The 28-year-old also argued that Brooks (17-2), who is the same age as Adiwang, isn’t as strong as he expected to but he also knew that a tiny slip-up was all it took for him to lose the fight.
Adiwang was put on his back early in the second and ultimately tapped to Brooks’ arm-triangle choke 3:07 into the round.
The loss was Adiwang’s second in four fights and it also put a stop to a two-fight winning streak.
“He seems to be so strong when I watch him on screen but believe me, people in the arena can clearly see that he was gassed out and tired. This is what hurts me the most because I knew that if he did not get that submission or we did not have that break, I knew that I was to finish him,” said Adiwang. “That’s what I’m saying. I’m not making excuses here but in this already high level of game, a tiny single mistake can cost one a lot.”
