Lito Adiwang (left) and Jeremy Miado in the ONE X lead card at Singapore Indoor Stadium on March 26. ONE CHAMPIONSHIP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Filipino fighters Jeremy Miado and Lito Adiwang are both willing to go at it again in a rematch after an unfortunate injury cut short their strawweight clash last Saturday in ONE X at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Miado came away with technical knockout victory in the lead card of ONE Championship’s 10th anniversary event after Adiwang, the No. 5 ranked in the division, was unable to continue due to a knee injury 2:56 in the second round.
“No problem for me. If they want a rematch, I will give a rematch,” said Miado told the media after his victory.
Miado admitted feeling bittersweet about his victory, which had been expected to barn burner given both fighter’s willingness to slug it out and put on a show especially with a $50,000 performance bonus likewise at stake.
In a social media post after the match, Team Lakay’s Adiwang congratulated Miado for his performance and expressed his desire to fight his fellow Filipino again.
“Wishing you all the best and I’m hoping to see you again and let’s continue what we started,” said Adiwang, who said he remained in high spirits despite the disappointing finish to his night. “I’m praying the injury is not big and seriously so we can get back in the circle soon.”
Team Lakay coach Mark Sangiao told INQUIRER.net that Adiwang is due for an MRI to check the extent of his injury. No timetable for return has been laid out yet.
Teammate Eduard Folayang, who were among ONE X’s victors after defeating retiring legend John Wayne Parr in a Muay Thai bout, said Adiwang had been injured in an earlier takedown attempt. “When he tried to bounce on his feet, it already hurt.”
Miado said that checking Adiwang’s kicks and being patient in his attack were part of his team’s game plan to subdue the Team Lakay firecracker, who is known to come out of the gates swinging.
“We trained a lot of checking. I took a lot of low kicks in the first round but the in the second, my corner told me to execture our game plan and it was effective so it was difficult to hit me again,” said Miado.
“It was difficult for me to battle him in the first round because he’s so explosive and strong and I also felt his punches. So I played it smart. I didn’t want to bang with him in the opener so we thought in the second round I could get a KO.”
If not a rematch against Adiwang, Miado said he wants to battle the top guys in the strawweight division, where another Team Lakay member in Joshua Pacio reigns.
“Maybe they’re going to give me a slot in the division rankings or give me one or any of the [top guys]. Just give me time to train and prepare so I can match with any of them.”