FILIPINO MMA fighter Lito Adiwang aims to continue his ascent in the strawweight ladder when he looks to silence Jarred Brooks in the main event of ONE: NextGen III on Friday night in Singapore.
The brash American wasted no time calling his shots and putting the whole Team Lakay, especially the reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua Pacio, on notice in the heated back-and-forth leading up to the match.
That, of course, wouldn't fly for Adiwang as the ONE Super Series winner takes the first shot at the former UFC standout.
"Brooks considers himself as the No. 1 in this division. To be fair, I think I've also fought a lot of high-caliber opponents in the strawweight division who may not be in the top five. So for me, defeating him should keep me in the top five," said the Team Lakay standout, who is currently ranked No. 5 in the ONE Athlete Rankings.
Main event billing
This will be the first main event placing for Adiwang, and a victory would certainly boost his stock in the promotion.
Another Filipino in Rene Catalan will head back to the ONE Circle when he faces off against former ONE Strawweight World Champion Alex Silva.
It's a rematch eight years in the making after the Brazilian submitted the Filipino veteran in the first round with a killer rear naked choke at ONE: Kings and Champions back in April 2013.
This also gives the 42-year-old one last chance of vauling himself back in the title conversation as he seeks to snap his two-fight losing skid.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
