Conor McGregor praises ‘quite incredible’ Demetrious Johnson after ONE Championship flyweight title win
- ‘Mighty Mouse’ knocked out Adriano Moraes to win flyweight gold at ONE on Prime Video 1 last Saturday in Singapore
- Moraes breaks his silence on Instagram, thanking fans for their support and vowing ‘for sure the return will be epic’
Demetrious Johnson impressed a lot of people when he knocked out Adriano Moraes at Saturday’s ONE on Prime Video 1 event – including MMA superstar Conor McGregor.
“Mighty Mouse” met Brazil’s Moraes in the main event of ONE Championship’s debut card on Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service, with the promotion’s flyweight title on the line, and knocked him out in round four.
McGregor, like many fight fans, was tuned for Johnson’s performance, and was clearly impressed with what he saw.
“Quite incredible yet again by the Mighty Mouse,” the 34-year-old Irishman wrote on his official Twitter account, which is followed by 9.5 million people.
Saturday marked Johnson’s (24-4-1) second meeting with Moraes. The pair first met in April of 2021, when Moraes shocked the world by knocking the 36-year-old American out in round two. It was the first stoppage loss of Johnson’s career.
But after a submission win over Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a special-rules attraction at ONE X earlier this year, he achieved his redemption, bloodying Moraes on the feet and on the mat before deflating him with a punch and fling knee.
Two-time champion Moraes broke his silence on Monday, thanking his fans in a post on his official Instagram account.
“Thank you so much to everyone involved in this journey, gratitude for having you in my life,” he said. “One day we win, the next we learn, for sure the return will be epic. Thank you to my team, coaches, family and fans. I love you.”
The win pushed Johnson to 4-1 in MMA competition in ONE. He had great success in his first three fights in the organisation, defeating Yuya Wakamatsu, Tatsumitsu Wada and Danny Kingad to win the promotion’s flyweight MMA Grand Prix. He then ran into Moraes, before getting back on track against Rodtang and finally beating Moraes last weekend.
Before joining ONE, Johnson was a member of the UFC roster. He was the promotion’s first flyweight champion, and defended the belt a record-setting 11 times before relinquishing it with a split decision loss to Henry Cejudo in 2018.
He was then traded to ONE in exchange for the promotion’s former welterweight champion, Ben Askren.
McGregor (22-6), while far and away the biggest star in MMA history, has not achieved the results he wanted of late, losing to Dustin Poirier in his last two fights, both times by stoppage.
The second loss left him with a broken leg – an injury he is still recovering from. It is unclear when or even if he will return to the UFC’s Octagon.
The Irishman is a former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, and holds the distinction of being the first fighter in the promotion’s history to hold titles in two divisions concurrently.
