“Doesn’t get a lot of respect he deserves” - Demetrious Johnson explains why he was wary of Adriano Moraes
Demetrious Johnson added another accolade to his storied mixed martial arts career on Friday at ONE on Prime Video 1. The flyweight great defeated Adriano Moraes in spectacular fashion to capture his first piece of ONE gold.
While talk of a trilogy bout between the two is already raging amongst MMA fans, Johnson is taking some time to enjoy his latest success. Following his highlight-reel finish, ‘Mighty Mouse’ appeared on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani to discuss the fight and shared some thoughts about his Brazilian rival.
“The biggest thing I’ve known about this fight is that Adriano’s good, you know? He doesn’t get a lot of respect that he deserves, maybe because his style isn’t as fan-friendly, or he never got the opportunity to showcase his skill in America. But I knew this fight was going to be tough because of the way he fights and how long he is and how big he is.”
Demetrious Johnson also spoke about the pressure he felt going into the fight, saying that there are both positives and negatives to putting pressure on oneself:
“And for me that pressure - I truly hate pressure - I hate putting pressure on myself, but on the flip side there was like ‘Yeah, I love this pressure, I wanna see how far I can push. I wanna see how far it’s gonna hurt when I kick him, or when he kicks me, or when I get elbowed or whatever it may be.’”
Catch the full interview here:
John Dodson says Demetrious Johnson is the most well-rounded fighter of all time
John Dodson, a two-time opponent of Demetrious Johnson, recently spoke to TMZ about ‘Mighty Mouse’ following his jaw-dropping knockout over Adriano Moraes at ONE on Prime Video 1 on Friday:
"I'm not saying it because he beat me, but Demetrius Johnson is the most well-rounded mixed martial artist that the world has seen."
Dodson spent 50 minutes inside the cage with ‘Mighty Mouse’. Their first meeting was in 2013 and the two matched up once again in 2015. Johnson was victorious in both bouts via decision:
"He's the only one I've known that's combined it so well between his wrestling, striking, and also in his jiu-jitsu. He's been so creative with how he gets submission, how he wants to go and finish people and he's just a very intelligent fighter."