Former flyweight king Adriano Moraes eager to fight for ONE gold next: "I'm going to go forward and take it" 

To former divisional king Adriano Moraes, it isn't about chasing accolades at this stage of his career.

Still, the Brazilian concedes it'll be too big of an opportunity to turn down should he receive another offer to vie for the ONE flyweight MMA world title.

Speaking to Bangkok Post after acing Danny Kingad via submission for the second time, the American Top Team and Constrictor Team athlete said:

"If they put the title on the line, I'm going to go forward and take it because I am one of the best."

The top-ranked contender has spent the past couple of years sharing the Circle with Demetrious Johnson in what has become one of the most iconic rivalries in MMA.

While he became the first man to finish the legend, he also suffered back-to-back world title defeats to 'Mighty Mouse' that forced him back to the drawing board.

Despite the losses, 'Mikinho' has plenty left in his tank, as evidenced by his dominant win over Kingad at ONE 169.

Plus, with the belt now vacant in light of Johnson's retirement at ONE 168: Denver, Moraes knows there is no man more deserving than him to challenge for 26 pounds of gold.

Check out Adriano Moraes' post-fight interview here:

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Adriano Moraes praises Danny Kingad's grit after ONE 169 redo

As happy as he is with the triumph, Adriano Moraes does not want to take anything away from Kingad, who lived up to his words and made life far more difficult for the Brazilian on this occasion.

In the same interview, 'Mikinho' touched on his rival's strengths and the turning point of the match that helped set him up for the 11th submission win on his resume:

"I saw some interviews that Danny did, saying he could knock me out. So he came for it. In the first round, I put him down, but he had good transitions and he set up a good ground and pound that I felt a little bit. But I was able to swap with him at the end of the round."

"In the second round, it was the same thing. We had some striking exchanges so I accepted some good hands from him, and I saw he felt it a little bit."

At that juncture of the match, Moraes' heavy grappling game slowly started to take charge. Plus, with Kingad being at his mercy on the ground, his cornerman knew it was the perfect chance for him to seize the opportunity.

Moraes continued:

"I heard my corner telling me to put him down because we were almost ending the round, so I put him down. Then he started to stand up and I enjoyed the opportunity and jammed in the guillotine."