Danny Kingad Fancies Demetrious Johnson Knocking Out Adriano Moraes Again

ONE Championship fans around the world cannot wait to witness the trilogy bout between reigning flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes.

Danny Kingad is one of them, and the Filipino mixed martial arts standout from Team Lakay shares his prediction for the highly-anticipated encounter.

International Business Times sports editor and combat sports analyst Nissi Icasiano recently spoke with Kingad and he was happy to reveal his support for "Mighty Mouse."

"I'm backing Demetrious Johnson over Adriano Moraes and I see it ending via knockout in the second round," Kingad mentioned.

Johnson and Moraes' first meeting at ONE on TNT 1 in April 2021 was fought at a frenetic pace as both men continued to move around the cage and using their strengths to their advantage–with the Brazilian leaning on his length and the American utilizing the clinch.

Moraes eventually made Johnson pay for his eagerness with an uppercut to the chin that dropped the former UFC star and a knee to the face for the first knockout loss of Johnson's illustrious career.

The pair ran things back in August 2022 at ONE Fight Night 1 with both men putting on a striking masterclass for the better part of four rounds.

This time though, Johnson would exact his revenge in poetic fashion by stunning Moraes with a hard right-hand flush to the side of the face and immediately followed it up with a meteoric left knee to the face, successfully capturing ONE Championship gold.

Kingad, ranked No. 3 in the division, completely knows exactly what both men are capable of after stepping into the cage with Moraes at ONE: Legends of the World in November 2017 and Johnson at ONE: Century in October 2019.

While he believes a rematch with either man would be exciting, "The King" divulged that he would want nothing more than to fight Johnson again.

"Between both of them, who would I want to fight? Any one of them honestly, but Demetrious [Johnson] is No. 1 on my list. In all honesty, they're both great and skillful fighters, but Demetrious Johnson's really my favorite," Kingad told Icasiano.

"I'd love to fight him for the title in the United States," he later added in jest.

His desire to fight Johnson again is more than understandable since their 2019 bout was, in actuality, the final bout of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix–with the winner earning an immediate title shot.

For the better part of three rounds, Johnson was an unstoppable force of nature who relied mightily on his wrestling to stifle Kingad's momentum.

However, Kingad also deserves credit for his performance after surviving Johnson's wrestling onslaught while also having his shining moments like dropping the former UFC flyweight kingpin with a massive left hook in the second round.

Kingad is aware of the uphill battle that awaits him in the ever-changing flyweight division, and a second date with Johnson could be what awaits him if he strings together some impressive victories.

His road back to title contention will begin on February 24 (February 25 in Asia) against Indonesia's Eko Roni Saputra at ONE Fight Night 7, and Kingad is confident entering the bout.