March 29, 2024

Rising ONE strawweight fighter Lito Adiwang put another action-filled bout against Hexigetu that ended in a unanimous decision victory in favor of the Filipino fighter.

The 27-year-old Adiwang of the famed Team Lakay showed no rust and good cardio in the three five-minute bout even as he is a Covid-19 survivor. He contracted the infection five months ago.

Adiwang opened the first round with an array of kicks seen in action movies – landing a roundhouse kick, then a highlight flying kick that kept his Chinese opponent at bay.

The Igorot fighter continued his onslaught in the second stanza with a series of kicks with distance and height that proved to be a huge disadvantage on the part of Hexigetu.

Hexigetu opted to trade with low kicks which resulted in low blows, forcing the referee to raise a yellow card in the closing seconds of round two.

A third low blow in the third round led to another yellow card that has deducted 20 percent from the purse of the Chinese fighter.

“The three low blows got me distracted so I’m quite disappointed with that. Looking back I know I could have done better than that,” Adiwang was quoted as saying.

Even after securing a unanimous decision victory, Adiwang admitted to reporters in a post-fight interview that he was a bit frustrated for not getting a highlight reel knockout.

Adiwang, who improved his record to 13 wins and three losses, has ended the three-game winning streak of Hexigetu, who defeated former ONE strawweight world champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke.

He acknowledged Hexigetu has used the circle’s size to its outmost extent by backpedaling every time he sensed that the Filipino fighter is about to unleash kicks or wanting to trade blows.

Meanwhile, Adiwang has signified anew his willingness to fight American Jarred Brooks, whom he was supposed to fight earlier this year before he caught the Covid-19 infection. – Harley F. Palangchao