Adriano Moraes shocked the world Wednesday night with a brutal knockout blow over Demetrious Johnson for the first time ever on TNT.
Despite Moraes stepping down as the reigning ONE flyweight champion, he was a definite underdog for Johnson, who was one of the biggest additions to the promotion after a historic trade brought him in in exchange for Ben Askren to the UFC would go. None of this seems to bother Moraes, who showed confidence throughout the fight until he finally connected with a top spot and a huge knee that knocked Johnson down with the fight ending just 2:24 in the second round.
It was the first time in Johnson’s legendary career that he had ever finished with strikes.
“It’s a dream come true,” Moraes said after the victory. “I work really hard every day. I do not have the words to describe this moment. We did it. I grew up watching DJ fight. He is a legend. I knew exactly his game. My team and I did the perfect strategy to fight him. I came to him with a good capital letter. I’m so excited. “
“It’s no surprise to me. I work with the best guys in the world. Worked out today. ”
With a significant reach advantage, Moraes Johnson wanted to keep a distance early on, but the former UFC champion penetrated him where he wanted to involve the Brazilian in the match. A scramble resulted in the fighters going to the ground and Moraes being able to use his size to turn positions and spend the last minute of the opening round above Johnson while striking away with strikes.
When the second round began, Johnson was more aggressive in his approach, as he continued to take advantage of Moraes, who constantly tied him down from the outside.
Johnson’s attempt to go inside eventually deteriorated after an altercation with Moraes and the reigning ONE flyweight champion dropped a perfect time capital letter that sent ‘Mighty Mouse’ on the screen.
It was then that Moraes Johnson blew up with a massive knee attack while still on the ground – a move that is perfectly legal in the ONE championship rule – and after a few strokes, the referee rushed the match.
After that, Johnson pays Moraes credit for a good job, while still needing more time to look at the band again to understand exactly what’s going wrong.
“I have to go back home and watch the fight to see where I made the mistakes,” Johnson said. ‘He’s very tall, big, I tried to get to him, but it’s part of the game. You’re been in the game for so long, it’s probably going to happen one of these days. ”
Johnson fell to 30-4-1 in his career with the loss while Moraes solidified himself as the leading flyweight in ONE championship in his third term with the title while undoubtedly achieving the biggest win of his career.