“Find the holes in each other’s game” - Danny Kingad expects an all-out war between Adriano Moraes, Yuya Wakamatsu at ONE 172

Filipino flyweight contender Danny Kingad expects a thorough battle when the division's top dogs Adriano Moraes and Yayu Wakamatsu battle it out for the vacant ONE flyweight world title next month.

Moraes-Wakamatsu II is one of the world title fights slated for ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang on March 23 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. They will try to ascend to the throne left by the now-retired world champion and MMA legend Demetrious Johnson.

In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Kingad, the No. 3 contender in the flyweight division, shared his thoughts on the title clash between Moraes, the former world champion and now No. 1 contender, and Wakamatsu, the No. 2 man. He highlighted that fans should expect an exciting game of one-upmanship when the two collide.

'The King' said:

"Both fighters can really deliver the excitement inside the cage. We’ll see how they’ll execute their backgrounds of either striking or jiu-jitsu. They’ll find the holes in each other’s game plans come ONE 172."

Adriano Moraes enters ONE 172 fresh from a second-round submission victory over Kingad in November last year. The win halted a two-fight slide for the Brazilian star, which both came from Johnson in their trilogy.

Wakamatsu, meanwhile, has won three straight, the most recent over American Gilbert Nakatani by decision back in December.

Moraes and Wakamatsu first met in March 2022 in a flyweight title fight, with 'Mikinho,' then the reigning world champion, defeating 'Little Piranha' by submission in the third round.

ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang is available live on watch.onefc.com.

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Adriano Moraes gearing up for vintage performance at ONE 172

Adriano Moraes is looking to return to the flyweight throne at ONE 172 next month and is working hard in training to be in top form to realize his goal.

He made this known in an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, underscoring his desire to put on a good showing for his scheduled title fight against Japanese Yuya Wakamatsu in the latter's home turf.

Adriano Moraes said:

"I'm training really hard to put on a show for everybody this time, especially for my Japanese fans. So, stay tuned, be there, because I'll be ready."

He went on to say:

"I'm very happy to be fighting in Japan. I'm so excited to be fighting for the ONE flyweight MMA world title against Yuya Wakamatsu."

Moraes-Wakamatsu is part of a stacked ONE 172 card, marking the return of ONE Championship to Japan for the second straight year.