‘Fire Meets Fire’ – Danial Williams Ready To Bring The Heat Against Lito Adiwang In MMA Return
If “Mini T” Danial Williams has a reputation for anything, it’s delivering incredible fights.
The Thai-Australian striking specialist loves to bite down on his mouthpiece and slug it out with a willing opponent, and that’s why he’s excited to meet Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang in a strawweight MMA clash at ONE Fight Night 19: Haggerty vs. Lobo on Prime Video.
When the pair throw down in U.S. primetime on February 16, Williams believes the only guaranteed outcome is an epic battle for the fans.
He spoke to onefc.com ahead of the matchup in Bangkok, Thailand.
“It’s going to be an absolute banger. Fire meets fire. Big respect to Lito. I’m so happy to get a match with him. It’s an honor to fight him. He’s a guy that’s just going to bring the fire, and he’s going to be a hard opponent.
“He’s someone that throws with intent, and that’s what excites me because it almost goes back to why I love martial arts. It’s the art of war. I feel like this is an art of war fight. This is someone who wants to kill me and I want to kill him as well. It’s a good style of fight that I enjoy.”
Williams knows that a painful battle likely lies ahead, but he’s welcoming the significant threat that Adiwang poses. It’s the element of danger that keeps him focused, and he thinks it will bring out his best in the ring.
The Scrappy MMA and Kao Sok Muay Thai representative also believes he can withstand the intensity of his Filipino foe – creating opportunities to find his own finish:
“Lito is a really good counter-striker. He’s good at drawing you in and then he flurries. So, I’m going to be wary of that. If you throw and you miss him, then he’s going to come back with a big combo. Of course, his wrestling is good as well. He’s an all-rounder.
“I think I’m just going to meet him in the middle. If he’s going to try countering me, I’ll try countering back and get him with a flurry. I just want to be busy, have a higher work rate, and when I hit him, hit him hard. Show him that if he hits me, I’m not going to back down.
“I’ll be disappointed if I don’t get the finish. So, round one, round two, round three, it doesn’t matter. But I always fight for the finish, and I’ll make sure I fight the best fight I can.”
Williams Plans To Focus On MMA After Kickboxing Setbacks
Danial Williams is returning to mixed martial arts following a pair of Kickboxing World Title fights in 2023.
Although he lost to elite opponents in “The Kicking Machine” Superlek Kiatmoo9 and Jonathan Di Bella, “Mini T” felt like he stretched himself too thin by trying to compete in multiple rule sets at the highest level.
Now firmly back in the all-around sport – where he posted a three-fight winning streak in 2022 – Williams says he learned a valuable lesson:
“Something that I’ve learned over the last year when I did kickboxing was just staying in your own lane. The ego gets the better of you. You have a few wins and you think, ‘I can do every sport I’m training.’ But the kickboxing skills are the ones which I’m lacking a little bit. So, I definitely would like to stay in one sport for a while.”
Rather than feeling restricted by his newfound commitment to MMA, Williams sees it as a chance to deepen his study of the different elements of the sport.
The former WMC Muay Thai World Champion hopes to chase gold in the strawweight MMA division, which means he’ll need to level up his grappling skills, especially if he hopes to defeat current divisional king and world-class wrestler Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks.
“Mini T” added:
“MMA has always been my end goal. I’ve stopped at the highest level of Muay Thai to do MMA. I know I’ve got to spend time on that because it’s been a bit mad trying to get the skills over the last two and a bit years, when I’ve been jumping between sports. I definitely feel like I’m at a level where I just need to keep improving in MMA.
“After the Jonathan Di Bella fight, I went to my first wrestling class, and I just shake my head, man. I’m like, ‘I’ve had eight pro fights in MMA, and I haven’t consistently spent a good chunk of time in the wrestling department.’
“I’ve always done a bit of BJJ and Muay Thai. The wrestling is just chaining it all together and getting that cardio, so I would like to spend a lot more time in the wrestling department the next couple of years.”
