ONE championship flyweight champion Adriano Moraes defeated Demetrious Johnson via knockout, landing the killer blow as a flying knee.
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Adriano credited his friend Jorge Masvidal for the knee strike. Taking to Twitter, the champ wrote, “Masvidal @GamebredFighter told me the knee can change life’s”.
Masvidal @GamebredFighter told me the knee can change life’s ✅👍🏾
— Adriano Moraes (@adrianomkmoraes) April 8, 2021
Moraes was clearly an underdog against his challenger, legendary lower-weight fighter Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson. However, the Brazilian stunned the former UFC titleholder and the viewing television audience with a second-round knockout to keep his title and boost his legacy in the weight class.
Johnson never lost by strikes, but that’s exactly what happened to the 34-year when the champ used a clever knee strike to get the upper hand before a punch combo prompted the referee to call it off.
Adriano Moraes 🇧🇷 SHOCKS THE WORLD, becoming the first man to finish Demetrious Johnson! @adrianomkmoraes #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship #ONEonTNT pic.twitter.com/HhvlmwDwW6
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 8, 2021
Johnson had won the promotions flyweight Grand Prix to earn the title opportunity on this landmark event. Johnson took to social media and explained this wasn’t a splendid match for him, but he will come back stronger.
Moraes (19-3) has been in ONE Championship since 2013 and he has racked up an impressive 10-3 record in the organization overall. Seven of those wins have come by stoppage, and his three losses all came by a split decision.
The ‘knee story’ which Adriano Moraes took as inspiration
Jorge Masvidal landed a flying knee on Ben Askren at UFC 239 that knocked him out in just five seconds. It’s one of the greatest highlight-reel knockouts of all time, and the fame from it has turned Masvidal into an enormous star in the promotion.
It holds the record for being the fastest knockout in UFC history. Moraes knows firsthand how knees can change lives, and he landed one of his own.
Prior to this match, Ben Askren was undefeated in all the MMA fights he took part in. He was making his debut in UFC, which proved out to be his worst ring moment.
Moraes winning over Johnson shows once again that the world is full of amazing MMA talent. He isn’t as big of a name as ‘Mighty Mouse’, but he showed that name enough doesn’t matter. What do you make of this win?