Demetrious Johnson reveals battle scars after hard-fought victory over Adriano Moraes
ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson successfully defended his title at ONE Championship’s historic first live on-ground event in the United States earlier this month. He, however, was left reeling from the battle scars afterwards.
The American mixed martial arts great defeated Brazilian rival Adriano Moraes by unanimous decision in their headlining trilogy title fight at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video on May 5 in Denver, Colorado.
Demetrious Johnson dominated the contest, finding ways to stay ahead throughout and limit any headway that Adriano Moraes was trying to make on his way to victory.
But while he was convincing in his title retention, ‘Mighty Mouse’ admitted that he was not spared from solid hits from ‘Mikinho’, the pain of which he had to endure after the fight.
Demetrious Johnson shared to MMA Junkie in an interview:
“My body still feels fine, I’m still sore from the fight, like my knees where my MCL area is, that’s kind of sore and whatnot, my right leg, and my left leg, my left ankle is a bit bruised.”
Check out the interview below:
The win was the second straight for Demetrious Johnson over Adriano Moraes, in the follow-up to the fourth-round knockout (flying knee) he fashioned back in August where he seized the ONE flyweight world title.
It also gave him the upperhand in their ONE head-to-head matchup, two wins to one.
Adriano Moraes took the first by KO (grounded knee) in the second round of their title showdown in April 2021.
Both fighters have expressed no interest in meeting for a fourth time, believing it is time for them to move on from their rivalry.
ONE Fight Night 10 was played to a sold-out 1stBank Center in Denver. Its replay is available for free via Amazon Prime in North America.