ONE Championship: Demetrious Johnson training with Henry Cejudo ahead of Adriano Moraes rematch
- The two former UFC flyweight champions are tied 1-1 across two title fights, and are now training together in Arizona
- Both stand to benefit from the arrangement, as Johnson prepares to avenge a loss to Moraes, and Cejudo gears up for a comeback
Demetrious Johnson has enlisted the help of one of his greatest rivals ahead of his rematch with ONE Championship flyweight king Adriano Moraes.
The 35-year-old American, widely considered one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, will challenge Moraes for the title in the main event of ONE Championship 161 on the morning of Saturday, August 27 in Singapore.
He suffered a brutal knockout loss in his first fight with the Brazilian, in April of 2021, and their imminent sequel is massively important for his career.
Johnson (24-3-1) is clearly not taking the situation lightly, having taken a rare break from his usual training environs, AMC Pankration in Washington, to train with his two-time opponent Henry Cejudo at Fight Ready in Arizona.
Johnson and Cejudo first met at UFC 197 in 2016, in the eighth defence of the former’s record-setting 11-fight flyweight title reign. Johnson won the first fight with a blistering first-round TKO.
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The 35-year-old Cejudo (16-2) earned a shot at redemption with wins over Wilson Reis and Sergio Pettis, and at UFC 227 in 2018, ended the flyweight division’s Johnson dynasty with a split decision victory.
The pair never partook in a tiebreaking trilogy fight, as Johnson promptly left the UFC in favour of ONE, and Cejudo announced his retirement soon after that.
His track record suggests he could be of great help to Johnson. And having recently announced loose plans to return to competition, he undoubtedly stands to benefit from their training as well.
Johnson’s fight with Moraes will headline ONE Championship’s debut on Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service, and will air on the evening of Friday, August 26 in US prime time.
