If fans learned anything at ONE: FIRE & FURY last Friday, 31 January, it is that Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang is a man of his word. The 26-year-old scored his second straight win in the ONE Championship Circle with his first-round destruction of Pongsiri “The Smiling Assassin” Mitsatit in front of his adoring compatriots at the Mall Of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.
Prior to the match, Adiwang promised to stand toe-to-toe with the Thailand National Muay Thai Champion.
Adiwang also predicted that this match would not hear the final bell, and he certainly saw that prophecy through.
“What makes me really happy is how I was able to get the finish, deliver the victory for our fans, and implement the game plan without taking any damage. I am really happy for that,” Adiwang said.
From the start, “Thunder Kid” was menacing as he unleashed a flurry of hands before a left hook sent “The Smiling Assassin” to the canvas.
Devastating ground and pound soon followed, but Mitsatit was tough enough to survive Adiwang’s initial onslaught as he found himself with a favorable position by taking Adiwang’s back.
He was not ready for what was to happen next though as the Baguio City native took half-guard and locked in the kimura for the submission win.
“To be honest, I was surprised with his toughness. He is far from a pushover. I hit him with everything early on, but he was able to recover, he was able to recover rather quickly,” Adiwang said.
The ONE Warrior Series (OWS) contract winner would not have performed the way he did if he was not prepared mentally, especially when Mitsatit took his back.
“More so than my conditioning physically, one thing that I liked about it is how sharp I was in the Circle. I believe that no matter how ready you are physically, if you aren’t mentally ready to follow a game plan, that will all be for naught,” Adiwang said.
“So that’s what I did – I worked on my mind the same way I worked on my body so I can do whatever I want to do in there.” Up next, ONE Championship returns this Friday for more martial arts action at ONE: WARRIOR’S CODE on 7 February at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The inaugural ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title will be at stake when Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy faces Detrit Sathian Muay Thai in another action-packed main event.
The lead card begins on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the ONE Super App at 6:30pm Philippine Standard Time (PHT).
To watch the main card, tune-in to ABS-CBN S+A at 9:30pm PHT.