“It was a little bit easy” - Adriano Moraes credits his background in judo and capoeira for his world-class BJJ

Brazilian star MMA fighter Adriano Moraes boasts of topnotch BJJ skills, which he said he was able to develop aided by his background in judo and capoeira.

'Mikinho' spoke about it in an interview with The Fight Bananas Show on YouTube in line with his scheduled return to action on March 23 at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang at the Saitama Surper Arena in Saitama, Japan.

The former ONE flyweight MMA world champion talked about his early days building up his skills set that has led him to be the fighter that he is right now, saying:

"I’ve been inside the gym for a long time. Then I practiced capoeira in my hometown. My old friends, they used to do capoeira, I went in with them. Then I was introduced to jiu-jitsu. So, I had a little bit of background from judo. So, for me it was a little bit easy to have this application for my sporting career in that time. And that’s it. I could never imagine that I’d be here today, but like, I’m thankful for this sport. Thankful for being inside this gym. I could accomplish a lot of dreams."

Watch the interview below:

At ONE 172, Adriano Moraes will try to return to the flyweight throne as he vies for the currently vacant world title against fellow contender Yuya Wakamatsu. He is coming off an impressive second-round submission victory over Filipino fighter Danny Kingad in his last match back in November.

Looking to derail his plans is hometown bet Wakamatsu, winner of his last three matches and out to finally go over the hump and become ONE world champion.

The match between the two is a rematch of their first encounter in March 2022, where Moraes won by submission to remain then as the flyweight king.

ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang will be available live on pay-for-view at watch.onefc.com.

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Adriano Moraes says he continues to be upbeat despite setbacks

Adriano Moraes said that the key to his success for the last decade has been the ability to rose to every setback he encounters. It is the same mindset he will bringing at ONE 172 later this month.

In the same interview with The Fight Bananas Show, he pointed out that he is not one to dwell too much on hitches in his long MMA career and it has been working well for him.

The American Top Team affiliate said:

"You know, I can lose the belt, I can get that back. I can lose the fight. But then I'm never gonna be down. I'm always gonna stand up. I'm always gonna try again."

Adriano Moraes has been competing in ONE Championship for nearly 12 years now and has compiled a winning record of 11-5.