Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang might not be working with Eduard “Landslide” Folayang and the other former members of Team Lakay anymore, but his heart will always be with his previous teammates.
After spending years together training at the fabled stable, the core of the group have moved on.
Adiwang went to Bali, Indonesia. Jenelyn Olsim established her own gym alongside her brother, Jerry, in their hometown of Bokod. And Folayang kept Joshua “The Passion” Pacio and Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon close by to form Lions Nation MMA.
“To all my previous teammates who are treading their own path, from Eduard, Joshua, Kevin, Honorio, and even Jenelyn – who’s already established her own gym – I’m very happy for them. I’m happy that they’re getting their own gyms and starting their own brand,” Adiwang said.
“Looking at the big picture, it’s a good move because you’re branching out on your own. For sure, they’ll be producing champions. That’s the positive thing that’s happening here. By expanding out, they’ll encourage and build more champions.
“Let’s keep the fire burning; let’s show the world what we got.”
Adiwang singled out “Landslide” and lauded him for making the pivotal move for his future.
After Folayang gave so much to Philippine MMA, “Thunder Kid” is excited to see what the future holds for his kuya.
While Adiwang didn’t join Folayang and his former teammates at Lions Nation MMA, he believes they can impact the landscape of Philippine MMA even more.
Adiwang is currently in Bali training with the HIIT Studio fight team, but he made sure to return to the Philippines when Lions Nation MMA opened. He did this to show his support to the man he’s looked up to for the longest time.
“Eduard is a legend, he’s my idol, and I have a lot of respect for him. He opened a lot of doors for us, and if he didn’t come along, we wouldn’t have been known in our field,” he said.
“He deserves his own gym and I’m happy that he’s already established it. I went back to the Philippines to celebrate the opening of his gym. I’m happy that a pioneer of this sport already has a gym that he can call his own. I’ll be supporting him all the way.”
