Lito Adiwang appeared to suffer a serious injury during his fight with Jeremy Miado at ONE: ‘X’. Speaking afterwards the strawweight said he thought he had just twisted his knee.
But Team Lakay head honcho Mark Sangiao confirmed on Facebook just now that Adiwang had sustained serious damage to his knee and would need to undergo an operation:
Serious setback
Adiwang suffered a torn ACL during the second round of the strawweight fight at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The 29 year old admits it was a setback,
“This is totally unexpected. I was really hoping that it is not a bad injury but apparently it is. I need to accept and overcome. I really believe everything happens for a reason, and maybe the reason for this is I need to be hungrier,” he told GMA.
He faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines but Adiwang is determined to come back stronger,
“Once I am done with the surgery I will push myself to get back to fighting again. I want to be a better and even more exciting Thunder Kid. I will do my best to recover quickly and be back as soon as possible. This is a minor setback, I have big dreams, and I would not let this stop me.”
Long road
He also told GMA that ONE Championship would be covering the cost of the surgery,
“I want to thank ONE Championship for taking care of their athletes. We received their reply yesterday that they are going to handle the surgery. I am very thankful. To my fans and followers, I am still here. Keep the faith.”
The timing could not be worse for Adiwang. The injury effectively handed Miado the win and means he is now coming off back to back losses.
Several fighters have managed to mount a successful comeback after tearing their ACL. Among them former UFC champions Conor McGregor and Georges St Pierre.
So Adiwang will not have to look too far for inspiration. But it looks set to be a long road back for ‘The Thunder Kid’.
