“That's the biggest problem” - Demetrious Johnson explains why Adriano Moraes is a tough opponent for him

Demetrious Johnson is gearing up for the biggest rematch of his mixed martial arts career when ONE Championship debuts on Amazon Prime Video on August 26.

After suffering the first knockout loss of his career in their 2021 meeting, ‘Mighty Mouse’ will attempt to even the series against reigning ONE flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 1.

Ahead of their highly anticipated rematch, Johnson spoke with ONE Championship about the previous rematches throughout his career.

“When I look back at my rematches in my past with John Dodson, Joseph Benavidez, I think those guys are the only ones I had a rematch with, right? Henry Cejudo, excuse me. The small details do matter, but then again, it's just another fight. It's a brand new fight, right? You know, the feeling-out process can be a little bit different.”

While discussing the impending rematch later this month, ‘Mighty Mouse’ disclosed the most significant challenge facing him ahead of his second date with the world champion.

“I think the biggest thing is Adriano is just much bigger, longer. So that's the biggest problem, which is just crossing the distance.”

In their first meeting at ONE on TNT 1, Demetrious Johnson struggled to work his way inside due to the size and length advantage of ‘Mikinho'. That struggle led to Johnson moving in impatiently for an ill-fated takedown attempt, which led to the fight-ending sequence.

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Patience will be key to Demetrious Johnson’s success against Adriano Moraes

In their April 2021 meeting, Demetrious Johnson’s impatience got the best of him. Struggling to work his way inside in the first round, ‘Mighty Mouse’ rushed after partially catching a kick thrown by Moraes. As we all know, the attempt did not go DJ’s way.

Coming into the rematch, Johnson is intent on better implementing his game plan.

“What do I think should be different? I should be winning,” Johnson said. “Obviously, Adriano is not an easy fight. He’s definitely got the range advantage on me. I’d like to implement my style. A fight is supposed to be a battle, a struggle between two people. For me, I like to get in there and fight – mix it up.”

Intent on not repeating the same mistake he made in their last clash, Demetrious Johnson will enter the massive main event with the goal of taking his time and letting things play out without forcing the action.

“It’s no [secret] he likes to use his movement to catch [opponents] – how he caught me last time. So this time, I have to pull myself back. I train for eight to 10 weeks – I ain’t got time to play these games. I just want to get in there and fight. I’m just going to take my time and see where it goes.”