ONE Flyweight King Not Ready For Brazilian MMA GOAT Conversations

ONE Championship has seen a ton of great champions throughout its history, and it can be argued that Adriano Moraes already belongs among them.

The inaugural ONE flyweight champion has thoroughly owned the division since the title was introduced in September 2014 and is currently second in the promotion's record books in terms of most wins in title bouts with a record of 8-2.

However, Moraes believes that he still has a long way to go before being considered among Brazil's greatest mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters.

Moraes himself spoke about the matter in a recent interview.

"I believe I still have a little more to prove, that I have to beat a few more records to put myself in this scenario and compare myself with other legends. I think I still have a lot to work on to get to that level," he said.

Combat sports fans are aware of Brazil's importance to the sport of MMA as it was the Gracie family who was most responsible for making it a must-watch affair while also establishing what has come to be known as Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

In ONE Championship's upper echelon, Moraes is joined by the likes of atomweight Muay Thai queen Allycia Hellen Rodrigues, former bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes and his conqueror John Lineker in representing Brazil.

At this point in his career, "Mikinho" does have a substantial claim to the throne within ONE Championship because of his achievements thus far–the biggest being the first to knock out Demetrious Johnson.

Moraes and Johnson shared the cage in April 2021 at ONE on TNT 1, with the American MMA icon hoping to end Moraes' reign atop the division.

To Johnson's credit, he put up a spirited fight against Moraes for the better part of two rounds, but the Brazilian proved too much for him and was subsequently put to sleep with a knee to the face followed up by ground and pound.

It should be noted that the Moraes knee strike would have been illegal in other major promotions like the UFC, and the irony of it all was that Johnson had championed the cause to make it a legal strike just a month before it happened.

The pair are again slated to face each other this coming Friday, August 26 in the headlining fight of ONE on Prime Video 1 at 8:00 PM ET.

Joining them atop the card is bantamweight Muay Thai champion Nong-O Gaiyanghadao defending his title against the United Kingdom's Liam Harrison in the co-main event.