WATCH: Former flyweight MMA king Adriano Moraes doesn’t skip a beat in guillotine choke submission win over Danny Kingad
Former ONE flyweight MMA world champion Adriano Moraes answered fears of rust after a long layoff with a resounding submission victory over Danny Kingad in their rematch at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. 'Reug Reug' on Nov. 8 in Thailand.
Back in action after a year and a half since he last competed in ONE Championship, 'Mikinho' hardly skip a beat as he sent 'The King' into submission by way of guillotine choke in the second round of their featured MMA match at the stacked event that took place at Bangkok's famed Lumpinee Stadium.
36-year-old Moraes showed that his grappling game is still among the best as he pressured Kingad througout with several submission attempts. The Lions Nation MMA standout did a good job in fending off the attempts while also unleashing his attacks, but he eventutally succumbed to it after being put on a guillotine choke late in the second round to which he could not get himself out from.
ONE Championship relived the moment that Adriano Moraes finished his match at ONE 169 with a video post on its official Instagram account:
"STATEMENT MADE. Adriano Moraes guillotines Danny Kingad in Round 2 of their rematch!"
Check out the post below:
The win at ONE 169 was the first for Adriano Moraes in over two years after losing back-to-back matches to former flyweight king and now-retired Demetrious Johnson, the most recent in May last year in their trilogy title fight.
It also took his head-to-head matchup with Kingad to 2-0 in his favor after he submitted the Filipino fighter in their first encounter in 2017.
The full replay of ONE 169 is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
Adriano Moraes now eyeing vacant ONE flyweight MMA title after win at ONE 169
Adriano Moraes wants a shot at the currently vacant ONE flyweight MMA world title after his impressive submission win over fellow contender Danny Kingad at ONE 169 on Nov. 8 in Thailand.
He actually made his intentions already known even before he plunged back into action in his rematch with Kingad.
Moraes told ONE Championship in an interview:
"There will be other fights between other contenders to see who will be able to fight for the belt. But I believe that if I win this (Kingad) fight, the next one will be for the belt."
The ONE flyweight MMA world title has been left vacant after former champion and MMA legend Demetrious Johnson officially retired from competition back in September.
Moraes, a former eight-time flyweight MMA world champion who fought Johnson in three title matches, is the No. 1 title contender in the division.