"A knee can change lives" - Adriano Moraes says idea for knee KO of Demetrious Johnson came from ATT teammate Jorge Masvidal

Adriano Moraes believes his iconic knockout of Demetrious Johnson at ONE on TNT 1 might not see the light of day if not for some words of wisdom from his stablemate.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist defended his ONE flyweight MMA world title against one of the all-time greats in the sport inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium in April 2021.

Knowing he'd needed to throw everything into the equation, the American Top Team (ATT) and Constrictor Team martial artist was ready to head to the ends of the earth to ensure he didn't leave any stone unturned.

Luckily, he didn't have to look too far for advice and inspiration.

During an interview with Party Starter Radio, the ONE Championship athlete recalled how his American Top Team teammate, Jorge Masvidal — who put Ben Askren to sleep with a vicious knee in a mere five seconds at UFC 239 in 2019 — cheekily reminded him how he could use a similar tool to pull a similar upset.

Moraes recalled:

"The fight between Masvidal and Askren happened before my fight. So I talked with Masvidal after his fight. He had his fight, knocked out Ben Askren, and then my fight came up against DJ. I remember I had a conversation with Masvidal, and he said 'Hey Adriano, a knee can change lives.'"

The 36-year-old continued:

"And that saying stayed on my mind. I said 'Man, that's true.' Because after that fight, Masvidal increased his popularity a lot. Then I knocked out DJ with a knee. And after this fight, we had dinner - me, Masvidal, and Kyoji Horiguchi, he's our Japanese teammate who is a big friend of mine. We had dinner in Miami, and Masvidal said 'I told you the knee can change lives."

Check out Adriano Moraes' full interview here:

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Adriano Moraes looks to kickstart another winning run at ONE 169

Though that highlight-reel finish did attract headlines all over the world, all wasn't as sweet as Adriano Moraes would have envisioned.

'Mikinho' lost his 26 pounds of gold to Demetrious Johnson in their rematch. The AMC Pankration and Evolve MMA superstar put the Brazilian veteran to sleep with a near-identical knee knockout to even things at one apiece.

In their trilogy, which headlined ONE Fight Night 10, Johnson dished out another solid all-around showing to close out their rivalry. The American martial arts icon, however, announced his retirement at ONE 168: Denver, relinquishing his flyweight gold in the process.

Moraes would love nothing more than to have his name etched alongside the title that has been synonymous with his successful campaign on the global stage. And a big win for the Brazilian against Danny Kingad at ONE 169 will make that dream far easier.

ONE 169, which emanates from the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, is available to active Amazon Prime Video subscribers live in U.S. primetime for free on Friday, Nov. 8.