Demetrious Johnson says KO loss to Moraes was a ‘good opportunity’ to improve: “I made amazing adjustments”

Flyweight icon and MMA GOAT Demetrious Johnson saw his first meeting with former ONE world champion Adriano Moraes as a learning experience.

Debuting for the promotion in 2019, ‘Mighty Mouse’ earned three straight victories, winning the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Championship, and solidifying his spot as the top-ranked contender in the division.

18 months later, Johnson looked to cash in, squaring off with then-champion Adriano Moraes in the ONE on TNT 1 main event.

Unfortunately, things would not go Johnson’s way. ‘Mighty Mouse’ suffered the first knockout loss of his career, catching a perfectly placed knee to the chin near the halfway point of the second round.

Looking back on the defeat, Demetrious Johnson believes that it was a good learning experience.

“That first fight against Moraes was a good opportunity because in this fight I learned that walking across distance is the best thing to do,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “I lost to him then I fought Rodtang and then I fought him again and I made amazing adjustments when we had that rematch.”

Johnson bounced back in a big way, first defeating Muay Thai legend Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a historic mixed-rules matchup at the promotion’s 10th-anniversary showcase ONE X. That was enough to score him a rematch with Moraes at ONE Championship’s inaugural Amazon Prime Video event.

‘Mighty Mouse’ secured his own highlight-reel-worthy victory, scoring a fourth-round knockout to claim the ONE flyweight MMA world championship.

With the series even at 1-1, a trilogy bout was inevitable. Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes met for the third time at ONE Fight Night 10 in Broomfield, Colorado. After 25 entertaining minutes of action, Johnson was declared the winner by way of a unanimous decision, closing out one of the most memorable trilogies in mixed martial arts history.