Team Lakay's Lito Adiwang came back with a vengeance on Friday by stopping Japan's Namiki Kawahara in their strawweight match in ONE: Unstoppable in Singapore.
Spurred by his controversial defeat to Hiroba Minowa in November, Adiwang made sure the bout won't reach the final bell this ti,e, tagging Kawahara with a hail of punches and roundhouse kicks.
Kawahara then made the mistake of attacking head first with his chin wide open in the second round, allowing Adiwang to tag him with a short left to the jaw that dropped the Japanese.
Adiwang immediately chased him to the ground for the finisher, but the referee saw enough and stopped the fight with 2:57 remaining in the second round.
"It's been tough for me, I'm very emotional coming into this fight. I know I'm got a lot of challenges entering this bout, I tested myself here, honestly, this is the toughest fight I faced. I was not able to prepare well but to God be the glory for the win," he said.
It was a tough 2020 for Adiwang as he lost via split decision to Minowa in November, thus snapping his seven-match win streak.
It proved to be controversial as replays showed that Minowa may have tapped early but was not seen by the referee.
Making the loss even more painful was the death of his mother late in December.
Teary-eyed, he sent a heart felt message to his family at home: "To my family, we've been through a lot... I love you so much. This is for you, Mama."
FROM THE ARCHIVES