Although Adriano Moraes is focused on his ONE Flyweight World Title trilogy match with Demetrious Johnson at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video in Colorado, he’s also excited to see how his training partners fare on the same card.
The Brazilian will challenge Johnson in the massive main event this Friday, May 5, but the organization’s historic debut in the United States is also stacked from top to bottom. Two other World TItle fights will headline the lineup, while the undercard features elite athletes across the entire martial arts spectrum
That includes a pair of Moraes’ stablemates at American Top Team in Florida – Alyse Anderson and Tye Ruotolo.
Anderson will compete just before the co-main events, as she battles three-sport superstar Stamp Fairtex in atomweight MMA action. And for his part, Moraes thinks the American rising star has leveled up many areas of her all-around game.
“Mikinho” said:
“She’s a great fighter. She has very good jiu-jitsu and has been improving her striking and doing the transitions very well. I am very happy to see her evolving.
“We have trained grappling and striking together. She has been evolving a lot. Her wrestling has been improving a lot. She’s more comfortable with her striking and has more power in jiu-jitsu.”
Anderson’s clash with Stamp is also a huge opportunity to announce herself as a serious World Title threat.
As the #1-ranker atomweight MMA contender and the 2021 ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix Champion, the Thai striker represents a big step up in competition.
However, Moraes believes “Lil’ Savage” can use her ground game to shock fans and catapult herself into the upper echelon.
He said of Anderson:
“This is a good fight for her to show her evolution and put her name into the [World Title] challenger position.
“She needs to blend her wrestling alongside her jiu-jitsu. This can help her nullify Stamp’s striking, which is her strong point. From there, I see her being able to impose her game.
“I believe she can submit Stamp or, if she is on top, land effective blows.”
Moraes Also Backs Teammate Tye Ruotolo To Top Reinier De Ridder
Before his World Title trilogy bout with Demetrious Johnson on May 5, Adriano Moraes will be keeping a close eye on ATT teammate Tye Ruotolo’s submission grappling super-fight with Reinier de Ridder.
The 20-year-old Ruotolo is an elite BJJ black belt who’s taken the sport by storm, and the American phenom will need those skills when he moves up two weight classes to face the middleweight MMA king.
Even though De Ridder is also a BJJ and judo black belt, Moraes believes his young training partner will be up for the task. Above all, he thinks Ruotolo’s full-time focus on grappling – while De Ridder has mostly turned his attention to MMA – will make all the difference.
He explained:
“I had the honor of training with Tye Ruotolo when I was in California last year. He is a very tough guy, and it will make for a great fight.
“I believe because Tye is a [pure] grappler, his jiu-jitsu will be sharper. I see that he has more advantages.
