Flyweight Finishers: Everything you need to know about Adriano Moraes vs. Yuya Wakamatsu at ONE X

Adriano Moraes has been one of the greatest world champions in the history of ONE Championship. Yuya Wakamatsu is looking to put an end to his reign once and for all.

The two men are set to face each other at the ONE X: Grand Finale pay-per-view, which kicks off at 8:00 PM SGT. This will be the ninth world title bout that Moraes will be part of in ONE Championship, while this is only Wakamatsu’s first world title opportunity.

Competing on the monumental ONE X card could negate the difference in their experience in a big fight setting though, especially considering both fighters always look to finish fights as early as possible.

Here’s what you need to know about Adriano Moraes and Yuya Wakamatsu’s world title bout.

---

The technical mastery of Adriano Moraes meets Yuya Wakamatsu’s heavy hands

It’s easy to brand this fight as a striker versus grappler matchup, but it could turn out to be more than that considering the skills of both men.

To say that Adriano Moraes is merely a grappler is a disservice to his overall technical game. While the majority of his bouts have ended in a submission - nine of 19 - he’s also shown an ability to knock people out. Demetrious Johnson was given a rude reminder of that.

On the flip side, a quick look at Yuya Wakamatsu’s fight record will tell you that fists are the weapon of choice for the Japanese star. 11 of his 15 wins have come by way of knockout, with nine credited to his punches. However, he claims to be a ‘chameleon’ more than a striker and promises to show how he can hang with Moraes if their fight goes to the ground.

---

Matching up with Demetrious Johnson is the best thing that happened for them

While they collected opposite results, both men have seen an upward trajectory in their careers after facing Demetrious Johnson.

Wakamatsu fell to ‘Mighty Mouse’ in the quarterfinals of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix despite a valiant effort. He bounced back in a big way though, racking off five straight wins to earn his shot at the world title.

Meanwhile, ‘Mikinho’ produced the 2021 ONE Championship MMA Knockout of the Year when he stopped Johnson in April last year. Moraes' popularity sky-rocketed even more after defeating one of the sport’s greatest of all time.

---

Wakamatsu is going for Moraes' head, Moraes is looking to shut him up

Yuya Wakamatsu has claimed that he wants to come for Adriano Moraes’ head, saying that his time is up as a world champion.

However, Moraes has heard it all before and yet he still stands without a knockout loss on his resume. Instead, Moraes is looking for a knockout of his own to put ‘Little Piranha’ back in his place.

At ONE X, both men will try to back up their claims, but only one of them comes out of it with a win and a world title belt.