"I'll let him work in peace" - Adriano Moraes not interested in moving up to bantamweight and challenging teammate John Lineker

Adriano Moraes dares to be different. In an era of double champions and crossovers to special rules bouts, Moraes should be respected because he wants to defend his title. Moraes has racked up four successful title defenses of his flyweight crown. These include wins over Geje Eustaquio, Danny Kingad, Demetrious Johnson, and most recently, Yuya Wakamatsu at ONE X.

Adriano Moraes wants to build a legacy of defending his earned title, which he has already done multiple times. He said in an interview that he is not interested in changing weight classes and challenging fellow teammate and world champion John Lineker. He explains:

"The bantamweight division has been dominated by Brazilians. John Lineker is the new champion now, and I think he has some title defenses ahead of him. For now, I have no interest in moving up [a weight] category. "

Earlier in 2022, Brazilian MMA fighter John Lineker won the ONE bantamweight world champion when he defeated Bibiano Fernandes via knockout. This stopped Fernandes' record-setting title reign and also added another knockout to Lineker's impressive record.

Moraes says that he will not challenge his teammate Lineker, and the newly crowned bantamweight champion has much work ahead of him. Adriano Moraes says:

"My teammate John Lineker has a lot to do in the division, and I'll let him work in peace (laughs)."

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Adriano Moraes gets along with all his teammates including Colby Covington

Brazilian-born world champions Adriano Moraes and John Lineker trail together at American Top Team (ATT) and they get along well. But does Moraes get along with Colby Covington?

Covington has been outspoken in the past, calling the nation of Brazil a garbage dump. Moraes says he understands that it's just part of promotion but in person, Covington and him are kind to each other. He said in an interview:

“He was always nice with me. When he went to fight in Brazil, the crowd was very cruel to him, and he just responded in kind... I believe it's part of show business. He trash-talks and tries to sell the fight as best he can. And the UFC likes that. I believe he says a lot of stuff just to sell the fight. And in the end, it works out because he's always getting good fights and making the main event.”

According to Moraes, Covington is just playing a character to sell the fight. In person and in training at ATT the two get along well.