MANILA, Philippines — For Lito "Thunder Kid" Adiwang, there's no better time for Filipino fighters to improve their grappling skills than now.

That was Adiwang's main takeaway after watching the match between Jeremy "The Jaguar" Miado and Hiroba Minowa at ONE Fight Night 23: Ok vs. Rasulov this past weekend.

"Sobrang importante talaga na mahasa tayo sa ground para makasabay tayo sa mga high level grapplers at wrestlers," he said.

Though Miado was able to rock the Japanese with an early flurry of strikes, Minowa was patient in shooting for the takedown as he controlled the majority of the fight to come away with the split decision win.

Adiwang highlighted the importance of not just being able to grapple but also being able to defend on the ground as the difference maker for Pinoy fighters.

After all, striking is already in our DNA and rounding out one's skills will be integral for Filipinos to match up against the more seasoned fighters under The Home of Martial Arts.

"We need to constantly improve, di lang para makasabay but to also be on that high-level. We have to step up our game to stand out and be dominant," said the Soma Fight Club standout.

With Miado tasting his fourth straight defeat, Adiwang gave sound advice to his compatriot for him to be able to bounce back.

"Para sa akin, kailangan niya mag-sacrifice, to get out of his comfort zone and try to cross train with higher level wrestlers and grapplers," he stated. "Maganda na ang striking niya eh, so he just needs to add to his grappling, scrambles, and defense to be able to hang up with the elites." TMT

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