Phuket, Thailand has been Lito Adiwang’s base of operations for over a month now.
The 30-year-old native of Baguio City could not have chosen a better place to host his career-development excursion as, apart from the island’s crystal-clear ocean waters and picturesque coastlines, the tropical paradise is a hub of world-class training facilities in mixed martial arts.
While Adiwang spends most of his time at Absolute MMA Thailand, he is free to cross-train with other teams in the area.
On Monday, he decided to take a 44-minute drive up north to visit the prominent Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA Gym founded in 2022 by George and Frank Hickman, Alex Schild, and Andrew “Woody” Wood.
Bangtao has been the go-to destination of several industry luminaries, including UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski and former UFC light heavyweight titleholder Jiri Prochazka.
Fortunately for Adiwang, he managed to meet and train with one of the most beloved stars in the sport today, current UFC women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili. Both sparred for an undisclosed number of rounds, and it was certainly an unforgettable experience for the ex-No. 5-ranked strawweight contender in ONE Championship.
“I am happy, and this sacrifice of mine to go out and learn more and work with the best in this sport is paying off,” Adiwang told Tiebreaker Times.
“Thunder Kid” was also given a front-row seat to learn Zhang’s regular routine.
“I saw that she has a very good training system. The programs she undertakes are all on point, and that’s something I am taking with me,” he shared.
Sharing the same training floor with Zhang meant a lot to Adiwang, who is coming off an ACL injury he sustained during the second round of his March 2022 encounter against Jeremy Miado.
“Confidence is something you will really build from this interaction.
“The level of confidence I have definitely improved. That was one of my missions in interacting with the best in the game in the first place — to gain and build back my confidence,” he said.
Adiwang seeks to return to action later this year, with the goal of arresting his two-fight losing skid and reinserting his name into his division’s Top Five. Despite being miles away from home, Adiwang feels that he’s in a much better state both physically and mentally these days.
“I can definitely say I feel rejuvenated,” he stated.
“There’s just positivity going my way, training with great people in a new environment, and meeting the best in this game, as well as training in this beautiful place.”
