“He took something from me” - Lito Adiwang explains desire to fight Jarred Brooks instead of former teammate Joshua Pacio
Lito Adiwang is ready for a comeback, and he's aiming for ONE interim strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks.
The Filipino star was last seen competing in February at ONE Fight Night 19, where he snatched his third win streak in the promotion via unanimous decision over Danial Williams.
Recently, Adiwang said that he would prefer to have another go on Brooks, instead of directly gunning for his former teammate and divisional ruler Joshua Pacio.
'Thunder Kid' told Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview the reason behind this burning desire to chase 'The Monkey God' instead of 'The Passion':
"For me, I really like to fight Jarred again. I have a different kind of fire in fighting him."
Adiwang's desire is fueled by vengeance, as he added:
"Number one, he beat me, so I really want to get my revenge. I felt like he took something from me. When I lost to him, my confidence went down like never before and I’m slowly getting back now. I want to get that back."
With his current winning streak, it is most likely that Adiwang will first have to face one of the top five contenders before he's granted a chance to test Brooks or Pacio.
Nonetheless, whenever ONE Championship wants Lito Adiwang to fight, he will be ready to put on a show.
How does Lito Adiwang fare against the top-five contenders?
ONE strawweight MMA star Lito Adiwang will have to burst through top contenders before he can challenge the interim title holder Jarred Brooks or the current divisional ruler Joshua Pacio.
Indeed, they are not to be underestimated on the ground, and if 'Thunder Kid' goes to face either one, he would have to showcase his grappling acumen more.
For example, Gustavo Balart, who recently faced Brooks in the interim title fight at ONE Fight Night 24, would be a tough wrestler to beat, as well as Mansur Malachiev who took a unanimous decision victory over No. 2-ranked Bokang Masunyane at ONE Fight Night 25.
Moreover, Masunyane is also known to have exceptional ground and striking game, while Japanese fighter Hiroba Minowa would be an interesting matchup for Lito Adiwang.