“It was tough staying positive” - Lito Adiwang recalls the mental anguish he experienced after horrific knee injury

Lito Adiwang is no stranger to physical pain, but what he didn’t expect was the mental adversity he had to deal with when he suffered a nasty knee injury in 2022.

‘Thunder Kid’ was in a match against fellow Filipino dynamo Jeremy Miado when an errant step tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

That injury sidelined Adiwang for 18 months, and he admitted in an interview with ONE Championship that the injury took a mental toll during his lengthy recovery process.

Lito Adiwang said:

“The doubts, those are the things that I truly had to overcome and combat hard. It was tough staying positive, it was tough to think that I could still get back after that horrific injury. I was just thinking that I don’t have anything to do in my life other than fighting, so I had to get back and give my best cause I know I still have a lot to prove in this sport.”

Adiwang was even supposed to return to action in early 2023 against Mansur Malachiev but was forced to sit out the match after aggravating his injury in training.

Nevertheless, the strawweight MMA star is back in full force and chalked up two impressive wins in 2023. Adiwang had a comeback to remember when he knocked out Indonesian slugger Adrian Mattheis in less than a minute at ONE Friday Fights 34 in September.

Just two months later, Adiwang beat Miado via unanimous decision in an absolute barnburner at ONE Fight Night 16 in November.

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Lito Adiwang fully transfers to Soma Fight Club

Lito Adiwang took an unprecedented change not just to his health but to his career in 2023.

The 30-year-old left the famed Filipino stable Team Lakay before he even faced Mattheis and joined Bali’s HIIT Studio in Indonesia. That partnership, though, took a snag when Adiwang temporarily left for Soma Fight Club when HIIT Studio’s building underwent renovation.

Adiwang ended up carrying Soma Fight Club’s banner in his fight against Miado, and he now plans to make that partnership permanent.

In the same interview, Adiwang revealed he joined Soma Fight Club under a full-time status.

“For 2024, I’m gonna give it my all. I’m moving to Bali, I’ve decided to stay there and really represent Soma. I’ll be camping with them, I’ll be training with them. All my preparation will be with them.”