Adriano Moraes is nearing the end of his lengthy standing as a major player in the ONE Championship flyweight title picture.
Moraes (20-4), who became the inaugural ONE flyweight champ in 2014, is gearing up for yet another title fight with the promotion. This one likely is the biggest of his career.
May 5, Moraes will attempt to recapture the title in a highly awaited trilogy bout against champion Demetrious Johnson in the main event of ONE Fight Night 10 in Broomfield, Colo. Almost a decade after he first won the belt, Moraes sees this as the final push.
“I think this is going to be my last attempt at the belt. I don’t know, so I’m going to give it my all inside the cage,” Moraes told MMA Junkie. “The next fight is the most important. My next fight is against Demetrious Johnson again. I never cared about the opponent. I never choose. I always like to go smash, and this fight is not going to be any different. May 5, I take my belt back.”
Moraes and Johnson (31-4-1) first fought in 2021, when Moraes defended his belt with a nasty knee knockout of the former UFC champion. Johnson avenged the loss in 2022 and Moraes was knocked out, also by a knee.
The Brazilian thinks a second defeat will signal the end of his championship run, but not his fighting career.
“I’ve been on top of ONE Championship for such a long time, fighting for the belt,” Moraes said. “I think I’m at eight years fighting five rounds, fighting for the ONE Championship belt. Depending on the result, I really want my belt back and keep on top of the division, but otherwise, I really want to do super fights. We have other disciplines in ONE Championship. Let’s see what the future has for us, but for now it’s killed or be killed.”
With the title, the settling of the biggest rivalry in his career, and his future as a title contender on the line, this moment could add an immense pressure to any athlete. Moraes takes it as part of the job and he just focuses on performing, not the result.
“I like this kind of pressure, but it’s not pressure, it’s just the life,” Moraes said. “I think that in my career, I’ve been doing this for a long time – wins and loses happen to us constantly. I just want to go out there and do my job and put a show for the fans and show the power of ONE Championship in the United States.”