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Adriano Moraes is enjoying the best run of his career following a second successful title defense in his third reign as flyweight champion at ONE: 'X.'
The Brazilian showed off his elite ground game and submitted the No. 2-ranked Yuya Wakamatsu in the third round with a guillotine choke.
Adriano Moreas is one of the longest-serving members of ONE Championship, having made his debut back in 2013. His win over Wakamatsu was his eighth world title fight - and prompted the organization to ponder who's next for the American Top Team star.
A tweet from their official account read:
'After 8️⃣ World Title fights, @adrianomkmoraes is STILL the flyweight king! Who's next for the champ?'
Adriano Moraes boasts wins over four of the top five ranked fighters at flyweight. The only one he has yet to face is No. 5-ranked Reece McLaren. The most in-form contender is No. 3-ranked Kairat Akhmetov. 'The Kazakh' is riding a four-fight winning streak with his last victory coming against Danny Kingad at the end of 2021.
The champ has already faced Akhmetov on two occasions and the score is level at 1-1 after the Brazilian came out on top in their second encounter in 2017.
Adriano Moraes 'upset' he received a yellow card
The flyweight king may have ended the fight with Wakamatsu in memorable fashion - but both fighters were issued a yellow card for inactivity in the third round. This meant a purse deduction for either man - and seemed to ignite their offense as we soon saw the finish.
"I was a little bit upset to receive a yellow card. Because when I come to the ONE stage I come to do an exciting fight. But I was there to defend my belt and my opponent was really tough. Yuya Wakamatsu is no joke," Adriano Moraes told reporters after the fight.
"I am trying to move a lot and trying to strike him but he also gave me some space because I know he wanted to connect with his right hand. We studied each other too much - that's why the fight in the beginning stayed a little bit like 'echo'," he added.
Despite the card, Adriano Moraes appears to be on fire. Four of his last seven victories have ended with a knockout or a submission. Before beating Wakamatsu, he famously became the first man ever to finish Demetrious Johnson.
With 'DJ' now back on the winning path after his victory over Rodtang in their mixed rules bout - a high-profile rematch with Moraes could well be on the cards.
