“He improved his striking a lot” - Danny Kingad believes Adriano Moraes’ stand-up game caught up with his grappling
Adriano Moraes has always been best known for his impeccable grappling skills, but flyweight contender Danny Kingad believes the former eight-time ONE world champion has leveled up his striking in recent years.
On Friday, November 8, 'The King' will find out first-hand when he goes toe-to-toe with Moraes as part of a loaded ONE 169 card inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
It will be the second time Kingad and Moraes have met inside the Circle—the first coming at ONE: Legends of the World in 2017. On that night, 'Mikinho' bested Kingad to retain the ONE flyweight MMA world championship. This time, both fighters will be vying for a potential shot at the recently vacated flyweight crown.
Speaking with Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview, Kingad believes Moraes has shown great improvement in his stand-up game, bringing it parallel with his world-class grappling.
"I think he improved his striking a lot. We know that his background is in jiu-jitsu, and it looks like he really worked on adding a good striking arsenal to his game."
Adriano Moraes returns from a long layoff for rematch with Danny Kingad at ONE 169
Moraes's fight with Danny Kingad will be his first time competing since a critically acclaimed trilogy fight against ONE Championship Hall of Fame inductee Demetrious Johnson.
Moraes and Johnson squared off for the third and final time at ONE Fight Night 10 in May 2023 after splitting highlight-reel knockouts in their first two meetings. 'DJ' came out on top the third time around, defeating Moraes via unanimous decision to retain the ONE flyweight MMA world title.
With Johnson retiring from the sport last month in Denver, the flyweight MMA title is without a champion, but Moraes could take a big step towards a ninth reign with the belt by besting Danny Kingad inside the Mecca of Muay Thai.
Will 'Mikinho' go two-up on Kingad, or will 'The King' break through and secure another shot at 26 pounds of ONE Championship gold?
Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 169: Malykhin vs. ‘Reug Reug’ live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, November 8 in U.S. primetime.