Filipino rising star Lito Adiwang needs to rack up more wins before putting himself back in the Top 5 of ONE Championship's strawweight division.
Entering 2021, one of his goals is to reestablish his name as one of the best in the division and sit next to reigning strawweight champion and teammate Joshua Pacio.
Read: Strawweight king Pacio believes teammate Adiwang deserves a rematch vs Minowa
“I see myself racking up a few wins this year," said Adiwang. "Hopefully, ONE will give us a lot of fights. If that happens, I’ll do my best to get all the wins I can so I can see myself being a top contender by the end of the year."
Formerly at No. 5, the 27-year-old Team Lakay stalwart fell out of the rankings after yielding to a controversial split decision loss against Japanese Hiroba Minowa last November in ONE: Inside the Matrix III.
Adiwang saw his seven-match win streak snap and suffered his first loss since 2014.
The Igorot warrior has to take it one step at a time before getting back in the strawweight frame and the first step, perhaps, is to defeat Japanese debutant Namiki Kawahara in ONE: Unbreakable tonight (Jan. 22) at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Read: Adiwang ‘excited’ to face another Japanese after loss to Minowa
Should he win against Kawahara, Adiwang will have a greater chance to ask for a rematch against the 21-year-old Minowa.
" wait for my chances because Joshua is still the champion. I just want to put my name among the top and now, I’ll be building on it. By the end of 2021, I want to be there," said Adiwang, who holds an 11-3 record.
Read: Japanese fighter confident of knocking out Adiwang
Adiwang will be the first Filipino to represent not only Team Lakay but the Philippines in ONE Championship's first live event of 2021.