Ex-UFC great Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson suffers first KO defeat as Adriano Moraes lands brutal uppercut and knee in ONE Championship title fight
- Demetrious Johnson is regarded as one of MMA’s all-time great champions
- He left the UFC in 2018 and moved to ONE Championship for new challenge
- Many expected him to dominate the competition but he suffered KO defeat
- Adriano Moraes was champion and said it had been a dream to face Johnson
One of MMA’s all-time greats, Demetrious Johnson, suffered his first knockout defeat against Adriano Moraes on Wednesday night.
In an outcome that has come as a major shock, ‘Mighty Mouse’ was caught with a thunderous uppercut in the second round before a legal grounded knee added more punishment and the referee intervened.
Johnson left the UFC in 2018 to join ONE Championship and is regarded by many as one of the top five fighters in history. He defended the flyweight title 11 times in total over a golden six-year period.
Adriano Moraes landed an uppercut (pictured), and Demetrious Johnson did not recover
Johnson had won all three of his fights in ONE Championship until he faced Moraes
He had never been stopped before but Moraes showed why he is flyweight champion with a hugely impressive win over a legend.
Johnson later tweeted: ‘All good everyone back in the hotel. Watch the fight. s****y day in the office. Congratz to Adriano Moraes. We will be back.’
Moraes entered the fight as a massive underdog and after his victory, reflected: ‘This is a dream come true.
‘I’m really working hard every single day. I don’t have the words to describe this moment. We did it. I grew up watching DJ fighting. He’s a legend. I knew exactly his game.
Moraes landed a grounded knee, which is legal in ONE, and the referee intervened
‘Me and my team did the perfect strategy to fight against him. I got to him with a good uppercut. I’m so excited.
‘It’s not a surprise for me. I’m working with the best guys in the world. Today worked out.’
Johnson had a few brief words in his interview, saying: ”I’ve got to go back home and look at the fight to see where I made the mistakes.
‘He’s very long, big, I was trying to get to him but it’s part of the game. You’re in the game so long, it’s bound to happen one of these days.’