ONE X: Adriano Moraes laughs over Masvidal- Covington feud; says ‘I choose to be here’ because of respect between fighters
- Flyweight MMA champ in the party mood in Singapore after third-round submission of Yuya Wakamatsu – his 11th victory in ONE
- ‘ONE Championship have values. I grew up here and they helped me be the man I am today,’ Moraes says – ‘at the end of the show everybody loves each other’
He may not be the most heralded star of ONE Championship, but Adriano Moraes is unarguably one of the most decorated.
The ONE flyweight MMA champion retained his title with a third-round submission via guillotine choke of Yuya Wakamatsu on the “grand finale” of ONE X, Saturday’s 10th anniversary spectacular in Singapore.
The victory earned the 32-year-old Brazilian a newly designed title belt – or “26.4 pounds of precious gold” as Moraes’ boss Chatri Sityodtong put it – and a 20th career victory.
“I feel really gorgeous right now with this belt,” Moraes told a post-fight media scrum backstage at Singapore Indoor Stadium. “The feeling is the best.”
“But I prefer the old design,” he admitted, laughing. “It’s the most beautiful. I think the old design is really cool, I love it. I’m gonna keep them both.”
The sheer weight of the championship belt also provided a potential logistical problem for the five fighters who won them at Saturday’s showcase – most immediately Moraes, who had a long flight home to Florida in the early hours of Sunday morning.
ONE X: emotional Stamp, Rodtang reflect on submission losses
“I’m gonna think about what I’m gonna do – maybe my corner are gonna take another one home and I’m gonna take this one, or maybe I’ll bring it in my carry on,” he joked.
Moraes had celebrated wildly after his victory, taking pictures cageside with Chatri and the ONE Championship CEO’s special guests.
“It was nice because Renzo Gracie was there, and Leo Vieira,” Moraes said. “He’s Bucheha’s head coach. we trained a little time together when he passed through Florida at American Top Team.
“I became really happy when I saw them there because I didn’t know they were there. And then I saw them, it was so nice to have a handshake from Leo Vieira, the master of BJJ.”
Moraes was also feeding off the energy of the crowd, as fans returned en masse to Singapore Indoor Stadium for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
“I love it, I love it,” he said. “Since I was a kid I fight. I remember I went into fighting because everybody liked to watch. For me, it was amazing to feel the energy of the public again, and it was a good showcase.
“One more submission, today I complete 20 wins on my MMA career and I’m really proud of my work.”
It was an 11th victory in ONE Championship for Moraes, a stalwart of the Asian martial arts promotion who was been there since 2013, and who scored the biggest win of his career a year ago by knocking out the legendary Demetrious Johnson.
“Yeah, they were teammates,” Moraes said, laughing, of the two UFC stars. “But then they broke up this relationship of friendship and they fought, and they started to talk s*** about each other in Miami. Things are different over there, it is what it is. I think they met on the street and they tried to resolve it with hands.”
“That’s why I choose to be here, in ONE Championship,” he added, when asked about the greater respect show between fighters in ONE. “UFC is nice, they promote the fight and stuff, but ONE Championship have values.
“I think I grew up here – I’m 9 years in ONE Championship and I think they helped me to be the man I am today, so that’s what I love. We came over here, you win, you learn, and the treatment of athletes is the same.
“No matter what’s gonna happen inside the ONE Circle you will go back home happy, you never talk s*** about our opponent, and you can see every event is a big party like that. At the end of the show everybody loves each other, we keep the love in the main stage.”
