Lito Adiwang considered his heartbreaking loss to Jarred Brooks as an eye-opener to his almost a decade of fighting in the professional scene.
"The biggest lesson that I took home after facing Brooks was that in this high level of competition, one mistake, no matter how small it is, can cost you a million," said Adiwang, who fell to a 13-4 record after being submitted by Brooks in their strawweight bout in ONE: NEXTGEN III last month. "So you really need to be with yourself, to be one hundred percent focused mentally and physically."
Looking back, Adiwang is confident that he nearly got Brooks to the edge with his striking despite being outwrestled down the canvas.
At one point, the Team Lakay stalwart recalled that his leg kick did not hit Brooks' groin area and instead capitalized on that short timeout to replenish his gas tank.
After getting back to their positions, the former UFC fighter scored another takedown and dominated Adiwang once more on the ground.
It took one single move to the side for Brooks to execute the arm triangle which prompted referee Olivier Coste to halt the match at the 3:07 mark of the second round.
READ: Defeat against Brooks learning experience for Adiwang
"I knew I was about to finish him," said the 28-year-old Igorot warrior. "It was clear that he was running out of air every time he held me down and that's why I was letting him pin me down, for him to get tired. Then I'd capitalize and finish him. But he was lucky to get that submission before I got to end the game."
Adiwang, though gracious in defeat, admitted that it was a hard pill to swallow had the break at their clinch did not happen.
"That's what I'm saying. I'm not making excuses here but in this already high level of game, a tiny single mistake can cost one a lot," added Adiwang.
Brooks, for his part, improved his impressive record to 16 wins and two losses and put the strawweight division on notice after his triumphant promotional debut.
READ: Brooks calls out Pacio, Minowa after victorious ONE debut