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Demetrious Johnson proved once and for all that he is indeed the best flyweight in mixed martial arts history.
The mixed martial arts legend captured the ONE flyweight world title when he knocked out Adriano Moraes in the most poetic of ways in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 1 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Johnson first challenged Moraes for featherweight gold at ONE on TNT I back in April 2021 but lost after taking a critical knee strike while he was down on the canvas.
Their rematch, though, saw ‘Mighty Mouse’ return the favor to Moraes. After struggling in the first two rounds, Demetrious Johnson boxed his way through the Brazilian’s defense and ultimately took control early in the third round.
Then it happened. Johnson wobbled Moraes with a fast straight right then followed it up with a world-ender of a knee strike that sent ‘Mikinho’ falling to the canvas 3:50 into the fourth.
Johnson, who’s now in possession of the ONE flyweight world championship, became the first fighter in MMA history to capture a world title in both ONE Championship and the UFC.
With such an incredible resume, it’s hard to argue what’s next for Demetrious Johnson. Well, there are still three viable options for the new flyweight king to take.
Now that they’re at a 1-1, it is plausible that a trilogy bout between Johnson and Moraes could take place in the future. The similarities are just screaming between their two victories and the only difference is the elevation where the knee strike happened.
Johnson was on the ground when he took a knee to the jaw back in their first fight in April 2021. Their rematch, though, saw 'Mighty Mouse' clock Moraes with a flying knee.
It may not be an immediate rematch, but a third fight between Johnson and Moraes is too tantalizing to pass up.
Another possible match for Demetrious Johnson is a world title defense against former world champion Kairat Akhmetov. The Kazakh has been on a tear going on a five-fight win streak and is currently the No.2-ranked flyweight contender.
Akhmetov is also coming off a dominant unanimous decision win over Japan’s Tatsumitsu Wada at ONE 158 this past June.
While the flyweight division is stacked, Demetrious Johnson can always gun for another world title in ONE Championship and challenge John Lineker for bantamweight gold.
Lineker and Johnson were flyweight contemporaries in North America, but did not have a chance to compete against each other during that time. Now that they are in ONE Championship, that could easily change, with even bigger stakes.
With both fighters holding ONE Championship gold, a super-fight between the two could practically shake MMA from its hinges.
Demetrious Johnson stays humble following world title win
Despite achieving what no fighter in the history of the sport has done, Demetrious Johnson stayed humble following his awe-inspiring win over Moraes.
Johnson is often regarded amongst the greatest MMA fighters of all time but he’s not one to gloat and just brush over his opponents.
During his post-fight interview with Mitch Chilson, the 36-year-old said that getting beat up at his home gym of AMC Pankration is a good way of bringing him down to earth despite what the public says about him:
“So, like I said guys, I’m very humble. I get beat up all the time in the gym. They humble me. With this game plan, it was a very hard camp. Just walking him down, taking shots, eating shots. This one when he took me down, he is not going to get past my guard. That is when I got the good elbow and I caught him. I just kept on working. I felt great.”
