Rematch With Adriano Moraes Will Define MMA Future of Demetrious Johnson

Mixed martial arts legend Demetrious Johnson takes great pride in fighting in ONE Championship’s first event on Amazon’s Prime Video.

“It feels amazing,” Johnson said during the press conference for ONE Fight Night 1 at The Novo in Los Angeles, California. “It’s a great platform to compete on and get my second shot against Adriano Moraes.”

Johnson and Moraes will compete in the main event of the said fight card, which will air on 27 August in India. 

The American is coming off a victory in his mixed rules contest against ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon at ONE X. “Mighty Mouse” used his grappling advantage to score a second-round submission over “The Iron Man.”

But it’s the rematch against Moraes that the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Champion looks forward to most. 

A victory over the longtime divisional king will add another belt to Johnson’s extensive collection. So, he has prepared for this contest and wants to reverse the knockout defeat he suffered at the hands of the Brazilian in 2021.

This time, Johnson will keep an eye on Moraes’ knee strikes to avoid a fifth defeat in his highly decorated MMA career.

However, Moraes is also one tough customer because he has won seven of his last eight fights. He reclaimed the ONE Flyweight World Championship from Geje Eustaquio at ONE: HERO’S ASCENT and earned a submission victory over #3-ranked contender Yuya Wakamatsu at ONE X.

Therefore, there’s a chance that Johnson could lose to Moraes again. If this is the case, are his days as a ONE World Title contender over? While the question lingers, Johnson treats this as just another fight, even if it will be ONE’s inaugural show on Prime Video.

“My responsibility is to go out there and put on a show; I’ve always done that in all my fights. I always go there, push the pace, and take the fight wherever it needs to – on the ground, on the feet, in the clinch, whatever it may be. So, I should go out there and perform like I always do and take it to him,” he said.

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