When Demetrious Johnson fought Adriano Moraes to crown a ONE Flyweight Champion in April 2021, the prevailing thought was a foregone conclusion that the former would steamroll the latter and continue his legendary run with a second world title in two organizations.
But the Brazilian had different thoughts in mind. He flipped the script and knocked out Johnson in the second round to score one of the biggest upsets in 2021. Ahead of Friday's rematch against Johnson (10 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime), Moraes looked back on the first outing and initially had some trepidation.
"My first thought about this fight was like, ‘Man, this guy's gonna mess me up’," Moraes admitted to DAZN.
"But then I had time to rebuild my mindset to fight against him because I was like a big fan of Demetrious Johnson. I followed his career since he started in WEC. I watched him, and I was one of his main followers. So for me to rebuild this mindset, I needed to work a lot because I gonna share the cage with the greatest of all time. I never imagined that it would happen one day. I trained hard to make history. That's why I'm the champion today: because I'm working hard to make history and break records."
Moraes continued his momentum by successfully defending the belt in March, submitting Yuya Wakamatsu in the third round. On the other hand, Johnson's also fought once, beating Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a special rules affair by second-round submission on the same show as Moraes.
When Johnson talked with DAZN in April, he felt that another crack at Moraes would happen if he won a fight or two. However, ONE had different plans in mind and made the rematch for this weekend. Moraes wasn't surprised because a sequel is the marquee matchup for the division.
"For the flyweight division, I think this is the biggest fight to do," Moraes felt.
"So when I fought him for the first time after our match, I spoke with him, and I say, ‘Hey, DJ, if you want to run it back, you are the greatest of all time. You can do anything you want’.
"I offered him this rematch. Thank God that he accepted. I think he deserves the title fight again."
It's hard to beat a fighter once, let alone twice. Moraes understands what "Mighty Mouse" brings to the table but is of the feeling he retains his belt and does it again in spectacular fashion.
"He's gonna come with everything," Moraes said.
"He's dangerous. He’s one of the smartest inside this game. I know it's gonna be a tough fight. But me and my coaches have come up with a different strategy. I think it's gonna be a long night. This fight won't be five rounds. I think I finish him (in) the third or fourth round."