“I had to switch things up” – Demetrious Johnson reveals strategy to ‘walk across the distance’ in rematch vs Moraes

After suffering a career-first knockout defeat to Adriano Moraes at ONE on TNT I, Demetrious Johnson knew he had to make adjustments to his skillset when the pair ran it back more than a year later.

The 15-time MMA world champion and one of the GOATs of the sport powered past three contenders – Yuya Wakamatsu, Tatsumitsu Wada and Danny Kingad, to claim the inaugural ONE Flyweight MMA World Grand Prix Championship and earn a shot at ‘Mikinho’s’ gold.

Although the entire combat sports world had him as a favorite when he went toe-to-toe with Moraes inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium in April 2021, it was the Brazilian who left the Circle with his hand raised.

The then-longtime king delivered a moment of brilliance to etch his name into the history books and knocked out ‘Mighty Mouse’ with a stinging knee at the midway point of the match.

Though that defeat hurt his confidence, Demetrious Johnson revealed it only made him more eager to work on his shortcomings when he ran it back with the American Top Team and Constrictor Team athlete.

The ONE flyweight MMA world champion broke it down on his YouTube channel, Mighty Gaming, earlier this month, saying:

“That's why in the second fight I was like, okay, I'm just going to walk. I'm going to walk. I was like ‘If you take me down, perfect’, but I'm going to walk across the distance.”

“And that's why the second fight, which I will break down soon, you guys will see the whole game plan changed in that. I knew I had to switch things up and needed to cut his attacks and the distance.”

Watch the clip here:

Staying true to his words, Demetrious Johnson executed his plan to perfection as he added the 26-pound ONE gold to his collection with a highlight-reel finish of Moraes in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 1 in August last year.

In the headline attraction of ONE Fight Night 10, ONE’s on-ground debut show in the United States, ‘Mighty Mouse’ went 2-1 against the Brazilian veteran via unanimous decision.

North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can relive the epic bill for free.