“I'm the smallest guy in the gym” - Demetrious Johnson explains how he prepared for Adriano Moraes’ size
Newly crowned flyweight king Demetrious Johnson needed to have a specific game plan ready to defeat Adriano Moraes at ONE on Prime Video 1. More than anything, he needed to prepare for the size disadvantage he would have in the fight.
In an interview with ONE Championship, the MMA legend described how he prepared for the challenge:
"Well, my main training partner James and the wizard. James is about 165-170. He's 5'9" or 5'10". So you know, I'm the smallest guy in the gym. So I'm kind of used to it, and the biggest thing is that one of my back, you know, Adriano know, he loves side control and guard. And that's why I was able to get the cut on him."
'Mighty Mouse' also prepared for specifically getting off of his back against Moraes and knew how dangerous of a submission game the Brazilian fighter has. Johnson continued:
"So when I get home and continue to... work on my grappling because, for me, it's like, he's just a bigger body. And, you know, with my shorter legs, I just can't get him off me. So sometimes you're better to stay on your back because when you try to get up, he's waiting for you to turn, to give you his back, he's waiting for you to make a mistake."
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New ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson discusses win over Adriano Moraes
All of his preparations in the gym paid off. Demetrious Johnson was never in danger of being submitted during their fight. Johnson's size disadvantage was certainly a noticeable factor, but the MMA great was able to overcome this.
The US athlete managed to outstrike and outwork his larger Brazilian opponent. Johnson officially stopped Moraes in round four with a knockout victory by utilizing an overhand and a flying knee.
The flyweight king recently sat down on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani to discuss this world title victory. Here's how Demetrious Johnson remembers the fight going:
“It just honestly feels good that the fight played out the way it did. There were a couple of times where I would kick him and he’ll catch my back and I’ll go on my back like ‘God d*mn, of course he takes me down when I’m kicking him!’ or when I had him and I tried to knee him in the face and he picks me up and threw me down.”
See the full interview with Demetrious Johnson below: