ONE Championship: Demetrious Johnson fired up for raucous Denver face offs, vowing ‘tomorrow we finish it’
- Typically reserved champion barks into microphone after tense final face-off with Adriano Moraes ahead of ONE’s first US event
- Fans at 1stBank Centre show their support for their American champion, chanting his name for much of the time he was on stage
Demetrious Johnson signalled he was ready to put an end to his ONE Championship rivalry with Adriano Moraes as he soaked up the raucous atmosphere at Thursday’s ONE Fight night 10 ceremonial weigh-ins and face offs in Denver, Colorado.
The two flyweight mixed martial artists have met twice before, scoring a highlight-reel knockout win apiece. They will meet for a third time in Friday’s main event, with Johnson’s coveted gold belt on the line.
It will most likely be the last time they collide in the Circle, and if the champion’s behaviour at Thursday’s pre-fight face-offs was an indication, he has been invigorated by the massive stakes of their title fight.
“We’re 1-1 – tomorrow we finish it,” the typically reserved champion barked into commentator Mitch Chilson’s microphone after a tense final face-off with his Brazilian rival. “Let’s go!”
The fans in attendance inside the 1stBank Centre – the host venue for the match-up – certainly showed their support for their American champion, chanting his name for much of the time he was on stage.
ONE Fight Night 10 will mark the Singapore-based promotion’s debut on American soil, and Johnson, who hails from Washington state on the West Coast, will play the role of the hometown hero in the main event.
Yet the Florida-based Moraes, who has been competing in ONE for a decade but has yet to compete in America, did not seem to be deterred by the hostile reception.
“I’ve been working in this company for 10 years and I’m so excited for this opportunity,” he told Chilson. “I’m ready to go.”
Intensity and passion were recurring themes at Thursday’s face-offs.
Flyweight submission grappling champion Mikey Musumeci, who will defend his belt against multiple-time no-gi jiu jitsu medallist Osamah Almarwai earlier on Friday’s card, got a strong reception from his fellow Americans after vowing to entertain them in his match.
“We’re here to spread jiu jitsu to the whole world.” he said, with his belt slung over his shoulder. “We have the biggest platform for jiu jitsu. “We have a huge responsibility to make this fight exciting, win or lose. I’m here to do everything I can to make this fight exciting.”
Middleweight MMA champion Reinier De Ridder and decorated jiu jitsu star Tye Ruotolo also got big pops from the crowd inside the arena, engaging in a bit of pre-fight shoving that, while seemingly good natured, caused ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong to leap in between them.
“I told Tye I would do it,” De Ridder told the Post with a smile after the event.
“He’s a good guy,” Ruotolo added. “It’s nothing personal with him.”
Once the face-offs had concluded, several fighters left the stage to participate in a question and answer period with fans. The flyweight MMA champion Johnson was not slated to partake, but did so anyway, and was immediately swarmed.
He was even challenged to a fight by a low-level fighter in upstart bare-knuckle boxing promotion BKFC, though he brushed the stranger’s aggression off, clearly intent to focus on the fight that awaits him tomorrow night.
ONE Fight Night 10 will also feature a flyweight Muay Thai title fight between champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon of Thailand and challenger Edgar Tabares of Mexico, who will be making his debut.
Rodtang, who has become one of ONE’s most popular fighters, is known for his intensity and aggression, and did not betray his reputation at the face-offs, vowing to finish his challenger on Friday.
“Tomorrow you’re going to se everything that I have,” he said through his translator. “I’m going to knock him out, for sure.”
Other highlights of the bill include an atomweight MMA clash between Thai striker Stamp Fairtex and American grappler Alyse Anderson, and a welterweight showdown between Zebaztian Kadestam and Roberto Soldic, both of whom have held major MMA titles in the past.
The winners of both of those matchups are expected to be granted title shots.
