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Adriano Moraes believes Yuya Wakamatsu's Brazilian jiu-jitsu, not his grappling as a whole, is his weak link.
'Mikinho' will have an opportunity to exploit that belief on Sunday, March 23 when ONE Championship heads to Saitama Super Arena in Japan for ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang, airing live in global pay-per-view.
In one of the most anticipated bouts of the evening, Moraes will meet Wakamatsu with the winner leaving as the new ONE flyweight MMA world champion.
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Wakamatsu goes into ONE 172 riding a three-fight win streak, including victories over Xie Wei, Danny Kingad, and Gilbert Nakatani. But despite his recent success inside the Circle, Moraes believes 'Little Piranha' has a very specific weakness.
"And his weak point is definitely not grappling because he is good at grappling, but I believe it is in his Jiu-Jitsu techniques," Moraes said in a recent interview with ONE Championship.
Adriano Moraes, of course, is a BJJ black belt and a known submission specialist, forcing opponents to tap out in eight of his 12 wins in ONE.
Adriano Moraes vows to knock out Yuya Wakamatsu at ONE 172
Given his advantage on the mat, you'd think that taking down Yuya Wakamatsu would be a big part of Adriano Moraes' game plan.
However, the former ONE flyweight world titleholder plans on giving Wakamatsu a taste of his own medicine in The Land of the Rising Sun.
"At the press conference, he said he was going to knock me out," Moraes said. "But I'm going to knock him out in the second round."
Though he's best known for submitting opponents, Moraes does have one win by way of knockout inside the Circle—that coming against none other than P4P great Demetrious Johnson.
Will Moraes add another big finish to his resume at ONE 172, or will Yuya Wakamatsu finally break through and claim his first ONE world title in his home country?
ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang will emanate from the Saitama Super Arena in Japan on Sunday, March 23.
