Rising strawweight Adiwang eyes ONE world title

MANILA, Philippines — After three straight victories with ONE Championship, rising strawweight star Lito Adiwang is aiming to be the best in the division.

"My personal goal is to be known as one of the best fighters in the division. Of course, I want to eventually compete for a world title," Adiwang said through ONE Championship.

"It's every athlete's dream to become a world champion," he added.

A product of famed Baguio-based stable Team Lakay, Adiwang rose through the ranks after winning a six-figure contract with ONE Championship through the ONE Warrior Series.

The 27-year-old made his debut in ONE: Century in Tokyo, the promotion's biggest event to date, in which he defeated Japan's Senzo Ikeda via TKO in the first round.

Since then, he has won two more fights with the promotion and has yet to be defeated in the ONE cage.

However, compatriot and stablemate Joshua Pacio currently holds the strawweight crown -- a matchup that Adiwang says would be one he wants to avoid.

"While it will ultimatley depend on ONE Championship, I still prefer not to face Joshua Pacio as much as possible. I want to avoid that. Instead, I want the top guys in the division," he said.

Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke, Yoshitaka Naito, Alex Silva, Yosuke Saruta were among those Adiwang listed as potential opponents.

The Baguio-based fighter also does not rule out moving up a division if a clash with Pacio would be unavoidable for the strawweight crown.

“If Joshua still has the belt in the next couple of years, I have no issues moving up to flyweight to take on challenges there. There's a lot of great talent in that division that I wouldn't mind testing myself against. But we'll cross the bridge when we get there,” Adiwang said.

Adiwang and the rest of Team Lakay are currently on hiatus as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic paralyzes the sporting world.

ONE Championship has yet to announce the resumption of its events for the year.