Adriano Moraes recalls losing third and final meeting with Demetrious Johnson: “I held back a lot”

Looking back on his trilogy bout with Demetrious Johnson at ONE Fight Night 10, Adriano Moraes believes he held back too much, resulting in his unanimous decision defeat to the flyweight great.

Johnson and Moraes engaged in one of the most memorable trilogies in mixed martial arts history. Trading insane highlight-reel knockouts in their first two meeting the two icons came together for one final clash inside the 1stBank Center in Denver. After 25 minutes of intense action, it was Demetrious Johnson who saw his hand raised, securing a decisive unanimous decision victory.

Revisiting the matchup during a recent interview with ONE Championship, Adriano Moraes was admittedly regretful of his performance, saying:

“I held back a lot and ended up not doing everything I wanted to do in this fight, unfortunately.”

Ready to move on from the world title loss, ‘Mikinho’ is ready to get back in the Circle and make another run at becoming a ONE world champion. Currently, the former eight-time world titleholder has his sights set on one man in the flyweight division that he is yet to square off with, Reece McLaren.

Both men came up short in their returns to the Circle at ONE Fight Night 10, setting up the perfect opportunity for the pair to finally compete against one another and get back into the flyweight title picture.

Who do you see coming out on top in a potential clash between Adriano Moraes and Reece McLaren?

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE Fight Night 10 live and for free in U.S. primetime on October 6.