“He’s so good being long” – Demetrious Johnson on Adriano Moraes’ advantageous length and reach

Upon arriving in ONE Championship, it was very clear that Demetrious Johnson was on a one-way trip to compete at the top of the division.

Having won the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix, ‘Mighty Mouse’ set himself up for a huge fight with the champion of the division at the time.

When Johnson met Adriano Moraes for the first time at ONE on TNT 1, no one knew what it would mean for both of their legendary careers.

On that night, one of the greatest series of fights we have ever seen was set in motion by one of the most jaw-dropping moments in ONE Championship history.

Becoming the first man to finish Johnson, Moraes stopped his opponent with a knee, setting up two further fights to define their iconic trilogy.

If you were to point out the incredible fight IQ and versatility of the current ONE flyweight world champion, you need to look no further than the way that Johnson was able to adapt to Moraes from the lessons he learned the first time around.

In a video on his YouTube channel, ‘Mighty Mouse’ watched back their first encounter and broke the fight down.

Analyzing both what he did wrong and how Moraes played to his strengths as the larger and more powerful man, Demetrious Johnson provided some fascinating insight into his thoughts in the fight and now with added context.

Specifically, he pointed to the incredible range management of the former world champion as a huge obstacle that he couldn’t seem to move past:

​

​

​

“That's what makes Adriano so good, is that he's so good being long and going lateral and when he was going lateral I just couldn't get to him. But when I did get to him, which was only one time I did that fly I threw the knee.”

Watch the full fight breakdown video below:

​