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Top strawweight contender Lito Adiwang says he's impressed by Jarred Brooks' ever-evolving arsenal.
'The Thunder Kid' anticipates a potential reunion with the American superstar after racking up three decisive victories over the last year and a half. If he were to rematch Jarred Brooks for the interim ONE strawweight world title soon, then Adiwang has some serious studying to do.
Jarred Brooks continues to dominate the division - despite losing his crown to Joshua Pacio via disqualification - and he hasn't been defeated yet. Lito Adiwang believes it's because he's always evolving and adapting:
"Jarred gets sharper every time he steps inside the Circle," he began telling Sportskeeda MMA, "you can really see his improvements. Number one is his cardio, where he can really carry his pressure and power well into the championship rounds."
Brooks and Adiwang first fought back in November 2021 at ONE NextGen. Both men brought a lot of MMA experience into the cage, but Brooks turned out to be the better man, defeating Adiwang via submission in the second round.
Adiwang, too, has vastly improved his game. He returned from a horrific ACL tear in 2023 to completely shut down some of the best strawweights in the division, including MMA chameleon 'Mini-T' Danial Williams.
"I have to test my skills against Balart" - Lito Adiwang open to fighting Gustavo Balart for his next fight while Jarred Brooks unifies the belt
Lito Adiwang is open to the idea of fighting No.3 - ranked contender Gustavo Balart next before fighting Jarred Brooks.
The 31-year-old superstar is in the best position of his career after taking down Danial Williams in his last outing at ONE Fight Night 19. He did a terrific job dictating the fight with his striking, nearly knocking out Williams in the latter round.
He hopes to fight for the title next, but he also looks forward to earning Gustavo Balart's No.3 spot before that happens.
Speaking to Nick Atkins, 'The Thunder Kid' said:
"I have to test my skills against [Gustavo] Balart, but if not, I'm really looking forward to jump and face the champion [Jarred Brooks]."
