In Photos: The history of ONE Championship's flyweight world title

ONE Championship’s flyweight division has always been arguably the most electrifying weight class in the promotion. With that said, the ONE flyweight world title has been a prized commodity since its inception in 2014.

There have been three people in total who have held the ONE flyweight world title and these fighters played an instrumental role in the rapid growth of ONE Championship in the 2010s.

That status quo, however, is at threat this August 26. ONE flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes will defend his belt against American legend Demetrious Johnson at ONE on Prime Video 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II.

Before that historic match takes place, we take a look at the illustrious history of the ONE flyweight world championship.

Adriano Moraes becomes ONE Championship's first flyweight king

Geje Eustaquio (left) and Adriano Moraes (right). [Photo ONE Championship]

The current ruler of the flyweight division is coincidentally its first monarch.

Moraes became the inaugural ONE flyweight world champion in a match that kicked off his rivalry with the Philippines’ Geje Eustaquio.

Both fighters knew the magnitude of the fight and the two young flyweights gave it their all in that tense matchup at ONE: Rise of the Kingdom in September 2014.

In typical Moraes fashion, the fight saw the Brazilian superstar make full use of his length advantage and methodically draw Eustaquio to his technical pace.

Moraes, content with gaging the proceedings in the first round, upped the ante in the second and gave himself a perfect chance for a submission hold. Controling Eustaquio from the bottom position, ‘Mikinho’ locked in a tight guillotine choke that the Filipino had no choice but to tap out to.

Kairat Akhmetov becomes undisputed world champion, Moraes hunts with interim gold in tow

Kairat Akhmetov. [Photo ONE Championship]

Kairat Akhmetov never cared if he was just a debuting fighter at ONE Championship, he knew that the ONE flyweight world title was ripe for the taking and he took the opportunity to immediately put himself in the history books.

The Kazakh star is one of the organization’s best grapplers, and he used that wrestling acumen to control Moraes during their first encounter at ONE: Dynasty of Champions in November 2015.

In a technical and grinding affair, it was the debuting Akhmetov who got the nod and earned a split decision win that left Moraes stunned.

Moraes, however, wasn’t far from the world title and he found himself holding interim gold just a couple of fights after his loss to Akhmetov.

The American Top Team fighter racked up two submission wins against Eugene Toquero and Tilek Batyrov, and it was the latter of the two matches that earned him the ONE interim flyweight world title.

Moraes was hellbent on taking his world title back and Batyrov became the unfortunate soul who got in the Brazilian’s way. ‘Mikinho’ was a man possessed during his August 2016 fight against Batyrov at ONE: Heroes of the World and he stopped at nothing to obtain the ONE interim flyweight world title.

Adriano Moraes starts his second reign, unifies interim gold with Akhmetov’s world title

Adriano Moraes (right) and Kairat Akhmetov (left). [Photo ONE Championship]

After submitting Batyrov with a tight rear-naked choke in the second round of their encounter, Moraes set his sights on Akhmetov to become the undisputed ONE flyweight world champion.

It was in Macau where he claimed interim gold, and it became the same site where Moraes sought to unify the ONE flyweight world title against Akhmetov. The pair had a battle worthy of all the hype that surrounded it.

Moraes was dominance personified in his rematch against Akhmetov and he laid it all on the line just to regain the world title that he once had possession of.

Unlike the first fight where he got subjected to Akhmetov’s takedowns, the second match saw Moraes stuff the Kazakh’s ground game whilst also landing some of the most dangerous knee strikes he’s thrown in his career.

It was ultimately Moraes’ night, but his second reign with the ONE flyweight world championship wasn’t all smooth sailing. Bearing down the horizon was his old rival Eustaquio.

Geje Eustaquio reignites rivalry with Moraes, unifies flyweight gold

Geje Eustaquio (right) and Adriano Moraes (left). [Photo ONE Championship]

While Moraes was hunting for his world title back, Eustaquio was on a warpath of his own.

Eustaquio featured in two high-octane battles with Akhmetov, the first one ending in a controversial split decision loss for the Filipino. The rematch, however, was a completely dominant showing for ‘Gravity’.

The second fight between Eustaquio and Akhmetov wasn’t just a grudge match, it was also for the ONE interim flyweight world championship. Already motivated by his previous loss, Eustaquio barreled through Akhmetov at ONE: Global Superheroes in January 2018 in front of a passionate Manila crowd.

Now with interim gold around his waist, Eustaquio reignited his rivalry with Moraes and set up a colossal unification match at ONE: Pinnacle of Power in June 2018 in Macau.

Eustaquio had arguably the greatest performance of his life when he put Moraes under his seemingly endless control. Although Moraes had his moments where he had the Filipino in a submission hold, those were only flashes and Eustaquio always found a way to revert the match to his pace.

On the feet and the ground, Eustaquio displayed a level of confidence rarely seen inside the circle. The Team Lakay stalwart knew that he had Moraes in the palm of his hand and he stressed that idea when he played mind games against ‘Mikinho’.

In the end, Eustaquio earned a split decision victory, walking out of Studio City as the undisputed ONE flyweight world champion.

Adriano Moraes returns to his kingdom

Adriano Moraes and Geje Eustaquio. [Photo ONE Championship]

It wasn’t long before Moraes got his hands back on the ONE Championship flyweight world title.

Less than a year after losing to Eustaquio, Moraes marched to Manila for ONE: Hero’s Ascent with a mission to reclaim his spot atop ONE Championship’s flyweight mountain.

The third match between the flyweight kings saw Moraes at his absolute best and his game plan was simple - take control of Eustaquio in whichever way necessary.

'Mikinho' did just that in their match, dominating his foe on the ground. Near the end of the fourth, he had Eustaquio in a modified kneebar that nearly broke off the Filipino’s leg from its socket.

Come the fifth round, it became clear that Moraes had it in the bag with the submission. Eustaquio was limping on one good leg, while Moraes had more than enough gas on the tank to mount another offensive that put the Philippine crowd in a state of shock.

Moraes took the dominant unanimous decision win and he’s never looked back since. Following his trilogy win over Moraes, the Brazilian superstar went on an otherworldly run that saw him write off the legendary Demetrious Johnson and Yuya Wakamatsu.