“Moraes is someone special” - Chael Sonnen knows Adriano Moraes is on a different level

Chael Sonnen needed just a single look at Adriano Moraes to know that the reigning ONE flyweight world champion is someone who’s levels ahead of his peers.

Moraes can prove Sonnen’s observation when he defends his world title against American icon Demetrious Johnson in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II on August 26, US primetime, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The match will be the second time Moraes defends his belt against Johnson following their pivotal clash at ONE on TNT I in April 2021.

Sonnen, who spoke on his YouTube channel, watched Moraes go through a mitt workout in Los Angeles and it was there that the retired mixed martial artist instantly became a fan of the Brazilian star.

The fighter-turned-analyst visited the ONE Championship fighters at an LA gym following their appearance at the joint press conference between the organization and Amazon Prime Video Sports.

“I'll tell you when I saw Moraes he is someone special. No part of this is to pull down Moraes’ championship, I’m just answering the question that everybody's going to have to ask. What's going to be different? Why should we expect something different, Moraes dominated him the first time.”

Moraes did what no other fighter in the history of MMA has done, and that was to knock Johnson out. ‘Mikinho’ clocked Johnson with a cracking knee strike on the canvas in a strike that was perfectly allowed under the Global Martial Arts Rule Set.

Sonnen said that he didn’t see Moraes go on a grappling or submission workout, but the striking alone was enough for 'The American Gangster’ to be drawn into the ONE flyweight king.

“I never saw him go to the ground once. Never saw him on a mat, never saw him anywhere. Except on the bottoms of his feet [and] boy, he's good. I mean, he's fast. He's long. And He's big. He's very big. It was a mitt workout [and] when he was hitting it, it was like a shotgun blast going off.”

Watch Sonnen's observations below:

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Adriano Moraes mixes raw talent with technique, says Chael Sonnen

Fighters usually blend technique with pure talent, but Chael Sonnen believes Moraes turns things up a notch.

Moraes owns 11 wins in ONE Championship with eight of those victories coming by way of a finish. Of those eight finishes, seven were submissions and Moraes’ lone knockout win in the organization was against Johnson.

Chael Sonnen observed that the 5-foot-8 Moraes was already blessed with not just the size, but the mere raw talent that any fighter would use as a foundation for an MMA career.

The other important trait that the American Top Team fighter has, that Sonnen believes puts Moraes in a class of his own, is his insane work ethic.

Sonnen recalled how he and ONE Championship Vice President Rich Franklin had to repeat their conversation during the fighters’ workout because Moraes’ punches were blasting off inside the LA gym.

“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! I mean it was this thing and you know special power when you see it, guys are born with that but then you got rhythm and you got conditioning, you got this ability to push and I see those things in the workout room. I saw how hard he worked.”