Lito Adiwang opens up about his exit from Team Lakay: 'I want to reach my full potential'

Mixed martial arts fan favorite Lito Adiwang has opened up about his exit from Team Lakay.

Adiwang, 13-5 as a professional mixed martial arts fighter, revealed earlier this week that he had also left Team Lakay, like several other of the camp's high-profile fighters.

It turns out, the hard-hitting strawweight left the stable last March, the same month when former world champions Eduard Folayang, Kevin Belingon, Honorio Banario, and Joshua Pacio announced that they left the team, though he chose not to announce his own exit at the time.

"I needed to accept that I only have a few years as an athlete. What I want is to reach my full potential and give everything I can give in this sport. When I was on the team, I felt there was a lack of push and training," Adiwang told Sparring Sessions.

"I need to be pushed to bring out the best version of me. I had to reach out to other coaches, especially for our weaknesses and sharpen my strengths."

Adiwang used to be in the top five of ONE Championship's strawweight division but has suffered back-to-back defeats. In his last outing, Adiwang lost via TKO after he injured his knee during his fight against fellow Filipino Jeremy Miado.

More than a year since he tore his ACL, Adiwang says he is now back to a hundred percent and is ready to reach his peak.

"All respect to coach Mark Sangiao, he has done this for many years and he has produced world champions," Adiwang said.

"But as an athlete, I know that I can still improve my strengths and weaknesses in this game. My main reason is I really need to push myself and bring out the best version of myself. My ring name is Thunder Kid but I am not always a kid."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News