ONE Championship Newcomer Hiroba Minowa Can Make A Major Statement With Win Over Lito Adiwang
Shooto Champion Hiroba Minowa will make his ONE Championship debut against dangerous mixed martial artist Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang this Friday.
The man from Japan will face the #5-ranked strawweight contender at ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX III, a previously recorded event from the Singapore Indoor Stadium that airs on 13 November.
Minowa’s mission will be to knock Adiwang from his fifth-ranked perch and then make a run to the top of the heap, where ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio eagerly awaits his next challenger.
Many die-hard fans believe Minowa has what it takes to dethrone “Thunder Kid” because of all that he’s accomplished so far at just 21 years of age.
His story, however, began close to ten years ago when his father encouraged the youngster to take up mixed martial arts.
Minowa eventually developed a love for the sport, and in middle school, he began competing in junior Shooto events.
His thirst for competition didn’t end there. By the time he finished high school, the Japan native had scored multiple amateur Shooto titles and had even placed third in a national Shooto tournament.
Given all that success, Minowa decided to turn pro at 16, which proved to be a wise decision. In his very first contest on the more challenging circuit, he submitted his opponent with a guillotine choke in the first round.
The young phenom would go on to finish his next four opponents before the second round of each contest. Then, after dropping a decision to Yosuke “The Ninja” Saruta, Minowa went on to finish six of his seven foes.
Next, he beat Yohei Komaki to score the biggest victory of his career and win the Shooto Strawweight Championship.
For his next act, Minowa will look to maintain his 100 percent finishing rate against Adiwang, who owns a 91 percent finishing rate and is riding a seven-bout winning streak.
If the 21-year-old beats Adiwang, who’s been absolutely stunning since joining ONE, it would prove that he’s ready for a redemption match against Saruta, who is currently ranked as the #1 contender in ONE’s strawweight division.
Will the Shooto Champion pull off the upset in Singapore? Find out this Friday, 13 November, at the previously recorded ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX III.
Catch the action on meWATCH or the ONE Super App at 8:30 p.m. Singapore Standard Time (SGT). Also, Channel 5 will air the event on a next-day delay at 12:30 a.m. SGT on Saturday, 14 November.
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