“It was very impressive” - Sean O’Malley in awe of Demetrious Johnson, comments on ONE Championship’s rule set
Demetrious Johnson’s thunderous flying-knee knockout of Adriano Moraes at ONE on Prime Video 1 has left quite the impression on 'The Sugar Show'.
UFC bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley had nothing but praise for ‘Mighty Mouse’ after he avenged a 2021 loss to Moraes and claimed the ONE flyweight world title.
ONE, through its partnership with Amazon Prime Video, made its long-awaited return to American primetime last month. Montana native O’Malley revealed that he randomly checked out the show live on Amazon Prime and got excited to see that he was just in time for the main event.
‘Sugar’ shared his two cents on the highly competitive rematch between Adriano Moraes and Demetrious Johnson, which further cemented the former UFC flyweight king's spot among the all-time greats of the sport.
Here’s what O’Malley had to say about ONE on Prime Video 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II on his YouTube Channel:
“It was very impressive. In the first round, [Johnson] got controlled on the ground, lost. Second round, same thing, controlled on the ground, lost. Stayed focused, stayed mentally in the game. Third round, kinda started putting it on the guy, guy started to get tired. Fourth round, [ended it].”
The 27-year-old star also gave credit to Adriano Moraes, considering he handed Johnson the first knockout loss of his career in their first encounter.
“He’s sick!”
Furthermore, O’Malley discussed ONE Championship’s unique set of rules. ONE adopts the Global Martial Arts Rule Set, which blends a combination of the best practices from Asian and non-Asian regulations.
O’Malley was especially intrigued by the knee strikes to a downed opponent’s head, which is allowed inside the ONE circle.
“How much difference is fighting when you can knee people on the head on the ground? It is a different sport! Side control, half guard, front headlocks, just getting off the ground, off the fence like that…the whole sport is just so much different when you can knee people in the head! It’s scary!”
Check out the full clip below:
Is Demetrious Johnson MMA’s greatest?
Aside from Sean O’Malley, UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski also commended Demetrious Johnson for a job well done against Adriano Moraes.
Johnson’s sensational performance has once again ignited talks about his claim as the greatest martial artist of all time.
The 36-year-old American’s resume speaks for itself. Plus, it doesn’t look like he has lost a step since moving to ONE back in 2019. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan is among those who strongly support Demetrious Johnson’s claim as the best to ever do it.
The revered MMA figure and podcaster said on the Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson podcast:
“It’s hard to say, but it might have been 'Mighty Mouse'. When he was in his prime, he was so magnificent, he was so fast, and he was doing things that you couldn’t believe that he was doing. He hit [Ray Borg] with a suplex, and caught him with an armbar on the way down. He body-dumped this guy, and in the process of taking him to the ground, got him in an armbar.”
Catch the full podcast episode below: