ONE flyweight world champ Adriano Moraes works out with legendary Rodrigo Nogueira

Reigning ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes got a chance to take a photo with heavyweight great Antonio Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira. The two Brazilian champions shared this photo on Instagram with caption:

"The greatest heavyweight of all time ['Minotauro' Nogueira] !!!!"

Nogueira AKA Big Nog is a legend of MMA. The heavyweight fighter has had some of the greatest matches in the sport's history. He had a 130 lb disadvantage against Bob Sapp but still won via submission. He was pummeled by kickboxing talent Mirko Cro Cop until he won via submission.

The Brazilian heavyweight defeated multiple world champions in his storied career as well. They include Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia, Josh Barnett, Fabricio Werdum, Ricco Rodriguez, and Mark Coleman.

'Minotauro' Nogueira held the interim UFC heavyweight title at one point. However, he is best known for being the reigning heavyweight champion in the prestigious PRIDE FC. That was until he met future heavyweight all-time great Fedor Emelianenko.

Brazilian heavyweight great 'Minotauro' Nogueira is putting his support behind ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes. The Brazilian is set for a rematch against 'Mighty Mouse' Demetrious Johnson at ONE 161.

---

Adriano Moraes vs. Demetrious Johnson at ONE 161

'Mighty Mouse' Demetrious Johnson has been stopped exactly once in his entire career. In 2021 the Brazilian-born champion Moraes controlled their initial title fight and stopped 'DJ' in round two via knockout. This KO shocked the combat sports world.

Upcoming on August 26 on US prime time, Johnson will look to avenge this loss and capture the title that has eluded him thus far. Standing in his way is Adriano Moraes, a man with eight championship victories in his ONE career.

Moraes knocked out 'DJ' the first time they met but this time, he says, he wants a submission. Speaking to SCMP MMA, Moraes said:

"If I got one knockout and one submission, for me, that's going to be perfect... The most important thing I always train is my jiu jitsu. Because jiu-jitsu is in infinity, so I need to train hard in jiu-jitsu."

The ONE world title challenger, Demetrious Johnson, says that coming into this bout, he needs to be perfect. Speaking in an interview, 'DJ' said:

"I’m making sure when I step in the circle on 26th August in Singapore, I’m the best version of myself. That’s what I’m always striving for. I’m always striving for perfection and I just hope that I go out there and execute and not make any mistakes.”

The world title rematch will also mark the day in ONE's history as it will be the first event to be broadcast on the streaming platform Amazon Prime Video. ONE 161 will be shared live on August 26 on US prime time.