“Gonna be a submission” - Adriano Moraes looks to drag Demetrious Johnson to the mat and tap him out
The biggest fight in Adriano Moraes’ mixed martial arts career is right around the corner. In the main event of ONE Championship's debut on Amazon Prime Video, ‘Mikinho’ will defend his ONE flyweight world championship against the man many believe is arguably the greatest flyweight of all time, Demetrious Johnson.
Feeling as confident as ever, Moraes has discussed on more than one occasion his desire to submit ‘Mighty Mouse’ inside the circle 16 months after becoming the first man to knock him out in his combat sports career.
Speaking to ONE, Adriano Moraes declared his desire to secure a late submission against the pound-for-pound great:
"This is the kind of fight that is very difficult to predict. Demetrious Johnson is a very smart guy, very tough, and I know he’s coming in very hungry for this rematch. I’m training a lot. I want to show my evolution as an athlete, so I believe I can get a submission in the fourth round.”
Speaking to The MMA Super Fan during fight week, Moraes once again expressed his desire to make ‘Mighty Mouse’ tap in their second meeting.
“This is gonna be a submission this time. He’s the greatest of all time, he’s the smartest fighter in MMA worldwide, I can tell you, it’s gonna be hard.”
Demetrious Johnson makes no excuses for his knockout loss to Adriano Moraes at ONE on TNT 1
When Demetrious Johnson suffered the first knockout loss of his mixed martial arts career, the Washington native made no excuses for what transpired that evening in 2021.
Speaking to the NY Post ahead of his rematch with Adriano Moraes on August 26, Johnson was brutally honest, saying that he simply got caught in their first meeting.
“I think what happened is I just got caught with the uppercut. It’s the first time chasing somebody who likes to do certain things. So this time, we’re gonna play it a little bit different and see how it goes.”
Sharing what he learned about Moraes through their first meeting and tape study, Johnson said the biggest thing is his movement:
“That he’s on his bike. He moves a lot. He uses a lot of movement. Watching the tape and then getting in there and actually seeing it as I saw when I was in there, and when I get back out, I was like, 'Yes, he does move a lot.' And then watch him fight Yuya Wakamatsu [in March]. I was like, 'he does move a lot.'”