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Since signing with ONE Championship in late 2018, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson has been on the radar of a number of top talents in the promotion’s flyweight division.
Of course, who would not want to test themselves against a former 12-time champion and pound-for-pound great?
Johnson will be making his long-awaited debut at ONE: A NEW ERA in Tokyo, Japan on 31 March against Yuya Wakamatsu in the opening round of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix, a tournament that the American star is heavily favored to win.
If he does go all the way, he gets a shot at the ONE Flyweight World Championship, against possibly the winner of the title trilogy bout between champion Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio of the Philippines and challenger Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes of Brazil at ONE: HERO’S ASCENT this Friday, 25 January at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.
For Moraes, a two-time champion in the division, getting past Eustaquio means not only becoming champion for a record third time, but it also sets him up for a possible matchup against Johnson, should he run through the tournament.
“We have a new guy [Demetrious Johnson] in the flyweight division at ONE Championship, a guy I really want to fight against, and Geje is in my way,” Moraes explained via the ONE Championship website. “Now is my chance to show I am really the true champion.”
Moraes was the inaugural titleholder, defeating Eustaquio back in 2014. After dropping the title to Kairat Akhmetov in 2015, Moraes went on to win it back in 2017.
Last July, Moraes lost the title to Eustaquio in a rematch
Friday, Moraes and Eustaquio dance for a third time in the first trilogy match in ONE Championship’s seven-year history.
“It’s an honor to have the first trilogy in ONE history against Geje,” said Moraes. “But my focus is getting back to the top of the division, and it is only him standing in my way.”
With all the time that they have spent preparing to go against each other, Moraes says that he has developed a respect and a friendship with the Team Lakay flyweight star.
“I’m a big fan,he’s my friend from the mountains, and I’ve learned so much from him,” Moraes admitted.
But that will not get in the way, Moraes says, of the bigger goal at hand, which is to once again rule over the flyweight kingdom.
“My focus now is to go for the top,” he expressed.
