‘A Huge Advantage’ – Lito Adiwang Praises New Team At SOMA Fight Club Ahead Of Clash With Danial Williams
Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang has returned from a long injury layoff with some of the greatest performances of his MMA career, and he plans to continue that trend at ONE Fight Night 19: Haggerty vs. Lobo on Prime Video under the guidance of his new team.
The former Team Lakay man has relocated from the Philippines to Indonesia’s SOMA Fight Club, where he is busy preparing for his strawweight showdown with “Mini T” Danial Williams in U.S. primetime on Friday, February 16.
Following the toughest period of his career – with back-to-back losses and a serious knee injury – Adiwang feels revitalized by his Bali gym.
Now, he plans to showcase his improvements at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
“Thunder Kid” told onefc.com:
“I’ve been at SOMA for quite some time now. This is my new team officially. So far, so good. I’ve been getting all the things that I need. They have a good facility, they have great coaches, and our philosophies work well with each other.
“It’s been a collaborative effort between us. The coaches respect what I bring to the table, and instead of trying to change me, we’re sharpening it. They’re only adding new things to the table.”
Working under the tutelage of coaches Mike Ikilei and Yousef Wehbe, the Filipino star feels confident that he is making strides in all areas – but there’s another major benefit at SOMA.
Adiwang has access to a wealth of high-level training partners who have also made the fast-rising camp their home.
Able to draw upon many different styles and specialties, “Thunder Kid” believes he will be prepared for anything when he steps into the ring next week:
“An advantage here is that there are a lot of fighters around my weight that I can spar with. That’s an advantage for me. Each time I spar, since it’s a different fighter, I get surprised and thrown off-guard by their style. We try to emulate real fight situations because in a fight, you never really know what to expect.
“It’s such a huge advantage. I’m being pushed to do something else, think outside of the box, and bring out other skills. Since they have different styles and strengths, I’m forced to adjust.”
Adiwang Preparing For War: ‘I Really Need To Suffer In This Camp’
As well as the physical element of fight preparation, Lito Adiwang feels more mentally dialed in since moving his training camp to SOMA Fight Club in Bali.
With his loved ones back home in the Philippines, it would have been easy to stay close, but instead, he’s made sacrifices that he hopes will pay off in his strawweight MMA clash with Danial Williams.
Adiwang explained:
“All these things that I’m doing, being away from my family and my friends, all the hard work I’m putting in, getting beat up every day here in SOMA, that’s my motivation to step up my game further.”
Adiwang wants to lean into that sacrifice and the grueling work to make him even hungrier for victory.
He doesn’t expect to come out of a battle with Williams unscathed, but he believes his daily grind at SOMA Fight Club will help him push through any adversity.
In fact, he often feels like quitting during tough training sessions, but he’s breaking through the barrier to take his mental fortitude to a new level:
“There are times wherein I get so tired in training, and I can’t even finish the round anymore, but I know I have to push hard because my opponent won’t make it any easier for me. I always think that if I’m gonna give up in training, I can forget about winning the fight.
“I really need to suffer in this camp. I have to tough it out because once I stand across from Williams and look him in the eye, I will know that I have to destroy him because he’s the reason I suffered so much in training.”
