Adriano Moraes and ‘Buchecha’ bring Demetrious Johnson "clone" into training camp

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Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida (left) and Adriano Moraes (right) [Photo Credit: ONE Championship]

Adriano Moraes has the opportunity to do what no fighter has ever done in mixed martial arts on August 26 when ONE Championship debuts on Prime Video.

Moraes will defend his title against Demetrious Johnson in a highly-anticipated rematch at ONE on Prime Video 1. With a win, ‘Mikinho’ would be the first man to defeat ‘Mighty Mouse’ twice in combat sports, cementing the Brazilian’s legacy as one of, if not the greatest, flyweights to ever step inside the cage.

In an Instagram video shared by ONE Championship and Moraes’ training partner Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida, the 17-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion joked that they had brought in a clone of Johnson to help Moraes prepare.

The video then flashes to a trainer who bares a very similar resemblance to ‘Mighty Mouse', but with a much bigger frame.

“We brought a clone of Demetrious Johnson, but a little bit bigger," Almeida said.

Adriano Moraes responded by saying:

“Buchecha is so funny right? Buchecha is funny.”

On the same night that Adriano Moraes defends his ONE flyweight world title, ‘Buchecha’ will make his return to the circle against Belarusian striker Kirill Grishenko. Undefeated in his professional MMA career, Almeida is facing his toughest test yet after destroying his last three opponents with first-round finishes.

Grishenko will look to get back into the win column following a loss to Anatoly Malykhin in February for the ONE interim heavyweight world championship. Prior to the loss, Grishenko was on a five-fight win streak dating back to 2020.

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Demetrious Johnson training to prevent a repeat of his first meeting with Adriano Moraes

Demetrious Johnson suffered the first knockout loss of his career at ONE on TNT 1 after a devastating knee from ‘Mikinho’ put him to sleep in the second round; a result of Johnson’s own impatience in implementing his gameplan. ‘Mighty Mouse’ is putting in work to ensure the outcome is different this time around.

One way Demetrious Johnson is improving his chances is by focusing on his Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills. Speaking to ONE Championship, DJ said:

“I found a legit jiu-jitsu gym under a new professor Yan McCane – a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt for 10 years. [He’s an] absolute monster. Very knowledgeable. Now, I’ve been doing a lot more jiu-jitsu because it’s eight minutes from my house and a gold mine for me because it kind of breathes life back into my development.”

On the flip side, Moraes has been putting more focus on his striking this time around, working with American Top Team’s striking coach Fabrico Rocco.

With both fighters putting a renewed focus on the strengths of the other, the highly anticipated rematch is sure to keep fans on the edge of their seats when it all goes down on August 26.

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