ONE Championship: Adriano Moraes TKOs Demetrious Johnson in stunning upset to retain flyweight title
- Moraes becomes first man to finish ‘Mighty Mouse’ in ONE on TNT 1 main event in Singapore
- ‘This is a dream come true, I grew up watching DJ fight, he’s a legend,’ says Brazilian champ
Adriano Moraes stunned to world of mixed martial arts with a sensational second-round TKO victory against Demetrious Johnson.
Despite being the challenger, with a significant height and reach disadvantage against the lanky Brazilian, former UFC champ Johnson had staggering -900 odds heading into Thursday morning’s ONE on TNT 1 main event in Singapore.
But ONE’s flyweight king Moraes became the first man to finish “Mighty Mouse”, rocking the 34-year-old American with a left uppercut and then throwing a knee on the ground and landing some punches before the referee stepped in.
“First of all, I just wanna thank you, this is a dream come true, I’m really working hard every single day inside the gym, my teammates and coaches know that,” Moraes said in his post-fight interview with ONE’s broadcast team. “Bro, I don’t have words to describe this moment, we did it.
“I grew up watching DJ fight, he’s a legend. I knew exactly his game. He’s a grappler like me but me and my team did a perfect strategy to fight against him. I got to him with a good uppercut. I’m so excited, I don’t know what to say.”
After two years of sitting on the sidelines in the US and training at American Top Team, and watching Johnson tear his way through ONE’s flyweight grand prix to earn this title shot before the coronavirus pandemic delayed the bout, the Brazilian “Mikinho” delivered on his promise to pull off the upset.
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“I work with the best guys in the world,” Moraes added. “Every day they say to me, ‘You’re so good’. I just like to be different, you know me since day one. I’m so happy.”
For Johnson it was a first defeat since a high-profile switch to the Asian martial arts promotion in 2019, having gone on to reel off three straight victories to claim the ONE flyweight grand prix title 18 months ago in Tokyo.
“I’m gonna go back home, look at my mistakes,” Johnson said in his post-fight interview. “He’s very long, big. I was trying to get to him. It’s part of the game, when you’ve been in it for so long, it’s bound to happen one of these days, right?”
“The greatest problem was just trying to get to him, close the distance, not give him a chance to set up. I wanted to push the pace, not let him dictate the pace. It happens.
“I don’t feel like his topside pressure was a problem, just getting to him. Congrats to Adriano Moraes, he s a great champion and a big dude. He caught me slipping and was able to catch me.”
