It all boils down to respect when Lito Adiwang accepted the match to take on compatriot Jeremy Miado in ONE: X, ONE Championship's 10th-anniversary event, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on March 26.

The Team Lakay stalwart admitted that he's a bit hesitant knowing that he'll be facing another Filipino on ONE's biggest stage yet, but later agreed that this is a huge chance for them to showcase the talent of Filipino mixed martial artists.

"Na-check ko na rin siya (Miado) (I already checked his style). He's a very tough and good athlete. Let's always look at this as a positive thing. Kung sino mananalo samin sigurado aangat 'yan and for sure will go up in the rankings (Whoever wins this match will surely move up to the rankings)," said Adiwang, who has a 13-4 record.

"Kapwa Pilipino ang makakaharap natin. Andon 'yong respeto natin sa isa't isa but we also need to respect the game (We're facing a fellow Filipino. I respect him as much as I respect the game). We need to go there and perform our best. 'Di puedeng mag-alalayan kami and we're in the biggest event of ONE. We need to perform out best and ipakita namin ang talent ng mga Pinoy (We need to perform our best and show how the Filipinos do it)."

Adiwang, former No. 5 contender, last saw action in October 2021 where he suffered a heartbreaking second-round submission loss to now second-ranked strawweight fighter Jarred Brooks.

Looking back, Adiwang said he had learned from his past defeats and assured to convert those setbacks into major comebacks.

Adiwang went 2-1 in 2021 with back-to-back victories against Namiki Kawahara and Hexigetu in Jan. and Sep., respectively.

Miado, for his part, made the best out of his transfer to Thailand-based stable Marrok Force after stopping Chinese foe Miao Li Tao anew last October to improve at 10-4 record.

Prior to that, the Marrok Force warrior also knocked out Miao in November 2019 and since then went on a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.