Danielle Kelly thought Demetrious Johnson would get knocked out by Adriano Moraes again
Submission grappling star Danielle Kelly thought Demetrious Johnson was on his way to another knockout loss against Adriano Moraes in August.
‘Mighty Mouse’ stepped inside the Circle for a highly-anticipated rematch with Moraes in the ONE on Prime Video 1 main event. After Moraes delivered a highlight-reel knockout of 'DJ' in their first meeting 16 months prior, fans and fighters around the world tuned in to see if Moraes could do it one more time.
Speaking to ONE Championship, Kelly revealed that while watching the fight herself, she thought Johnson was headed towards a similar fate in the sequel:
“So like their first two fights, like the first and second round it seemed kinda similar. But then the last time they fought, when Demetrious won there was, I think it was the third round or something, you thought he was gonna get knocked out because he was kind of like on his knees covering his face and you’d think like ‘Oh alright he’s gonna get kneed again.’ Because that’s what it looked like he [Moraes] was aiming for. Moraes was landing knees on him and then Demetrious came back with a knee.”
In the end, Demetrious Johnson was able to deliver his own jaw-dropping knockout, capturing the ONE flyweight world championship in the process.
Watch the fight below:
Danielle Kelly sees Demetrious Johnson vs. Adriano Moraes III doing big business for ONE Championship
With Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes sitting at 1-1 in their already legendary rivalry, the two flyweight greats will meet once again in perhaps the biggest event in ONE Championship history. The pair will headline ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video on May 5 when the promotion makes its long-awaited debut in the United States.
Now that ONE is heading to North America for the very first time with a massive trilogy bout in tow, Danielle Kelly believes the bout could bring in big numbers for the promotion as they continue to establish themselves on the mainland:
“I like Demetrious Johnson… yes, Adriano. Really cool people. A lot of people like DJ, He's a popular name in MMA so I think that would bring a lot of views and fans into the event.”
Emanating from the 1stBank Center in Colorado, ONE Fight Night 10 will air live and for free with an active subscription on Amazon Prime Video.