Top-ranked flyweight MMA contender and former divisional king Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes knows exactly where his advantages lie against #3-ranked contender Danny “The King” Kingad.
The pair are set to square off in a pivotal rematch at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug, which will take place in U.S. primetime this Friday, November 8.
It will be Moraes’ first appearance since suffering a hard-fought, five-round defeat against MMA GOAT Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in their World Title trilogy showdown at ONE Fight Night 10.
He’s hungry to bounce back and earn a shot at the recently vacated throne – but the same can be said for his old rival Kingad.
The Brazilian first clashed with “The King” in 2017 at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD, where he scored a dominant first-round submission victory to retain the ONE Flyweight MMA World Title.
A talented BJJ black belt, Moraes employed his elite ground game that night – a strategy he thinks will work in this rematch with Kingad. He told onefc.com:
“In the first fight, I managed to take him down and work my jiu-jitsu well, so he knows that my jiu-jitsu is better than his.
“I’m sure he’s been working on his ground game a lot. But I believe that the ground game is his weak point, and the strongest part of my game is jiu-jitsu, without a doubt.”
Of course, plenty has changed in the seven years since these men last squared off.
Kingad has changed camps from the famed Team Lakay to the new Lions Nation MMA and has worked hard to improve his grappling.
Still, Moraes sees the Filipino star as fundamentally the same fighter – an explosive athlete with a dynamic striking game and decent submission defense.
“Mikinho” detailed Kingad’s strengths and weaknesses:
“His strong point is undoubtedly his striking. He combines wushu with kickboxing very well. He has very fast hands, hits the body, and head, and also has fast kicks to the legs, body and head.
“He is a very dynamic athlete in striking. He has some wrestling scrambles that are very characteristic of Team Lakay, his former team, so he defends well in jiu-jitsu. But that’s what I’m going to work on to counter-attack.
“And the part that leaves the most to be desired is Muay Thai, the clinch part, the use of angles and knees. And, of course, jiu-jitsu. I believe that jiu-jitsu is his weakness.”
With that in mind, Moraes is predicting a triumphant return and a repeat of his first meeting with “The King.”
Loaded with confidence, he was short and sweet when describing how he envisions the battle playing out:
“I’m going into this fight very conscious and very focused that I’m going to submit him again. I’m going to get him.”
Moraes Targets World Title Clash With Reece McLaren
As the #1-ranked flyweight MMA contender, Adriano Moraes knows that he’s knocking on the door of another World Title shot.
With former divisional kingpin Demetrious Johnson retiring earlier this year, the ONE Flyweight MMA World Title now sits vacant.
“Mikinho” is confident that if he can get past Danny Kingad on November 8, his next outing will have 26 pounds of gold on the line:
” There will be other fights between other contenders to see who will be able to fight for the belt. But I believe that if I win this fight, the next one will be for the belt.”
As for who he’d like to face in a potential World Title fight, Moraes is eyeing #4-ranked contender Reece “Lightning” McLaren – but not because he has any personal beef with the Australian fan favorite.
The man known as “Lightning” is a long-tenured ONE superstar who has been a mainstay of the flyweight MMA division’s upper echelon for years. And while the two have been scheduled to meet in the past, he’s never thrown down with Moraes.
“Mikinho” added:
“I believe the next contender will be Reece McLaren. I want to face him because he is one of the only athletes in the rankings that I haven’t fought yet. We were supposed to fight in 2018, but it didn’t happen.
“He’s an athlete who’s been in ONE Championship for a long time, so I think he deserves to fight for the title as well. So I think that would be the fight to make.”
