One of the sport’s most exciting young athletes is on the mend. ONE Championship strawweight Lito Adiwang received surgery to repair a torn ACL, and now he is beginning his road back to the Circle.
The injury happened at ONE X in March. In the second round, Adiwang stepped backwards and immediately knew something was wrong. Jeremy Miado picked up the TKO victory in the process.
Adiwang spoke to ONE about his surgery and his mindset on his inevitable return to action.
“As per the doctor’s advice, a complete recovery will [take] one year. On a positive note, I still think it depends on how my body will heal. There’s a chance that I can recover faster. I’m doing it slowly but surely so when we return, we won’t face any complications. That’s what I see here – the importance of taking care of my body. I’ll be back,” said Adiwang.
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“I just got surgery. They replaced it. I think they got some muscles from my legs and put it there. Now I’m going through therapy. I’m going through several programs. The first week, I was just stretching it, just so it remains mobile. The second week, I started to put weight on it, and this week, thankfully I am getting to do squats and stationary bikes.”
Adiwang burst onto the scene in ONE Warrior Series with three consecutive wins. The impressive showings put him on the main roster, where he met Senzo Ikeda in his official debut at ONE Championship: Century.
The Team Lakay talent picked up a first-round win and followed it up with a first-round submission over Pongsiri Mitsatit in January 2020.
His exciting style made him an instant fan favorite, and it also moved him into the thick of the hunt at strawweight. Despite tough results against Hiroba Minowa and Jarred Brooks, two of the division’s top contenders, Adiwang still gave everything with every performance.
Knowing how close he got to title contention, “Thunder Kid” is ready to rehab and return to bring another storm to the global stage.
“The fire in me right now has returned. That’s what I’m feeling right now. Whoever I face, I’ll be ready. I’ll do my best to win, whoever I face. With this injury, I’m hungrier than ever,” said Adiwang.
“The promise is I’ll do my best to recover quickly and return to my best form. [I’ll return] not only to give good fights. But I know that if I give my best, I still truly believe that I will be a World Champion one day.”