Former UFC Champion Demetrious Johnson Returns to Fight at ONE Championship

Demetrious Johnson has a date for his next fight. The former UFC flyweight champion will attempt to capture the ONE Championship flyweight gold against Adriano Moraes. The fight between the two will take place on Feb 24 next year.

ONE Championship revealed the details of the fight during the broadcast of ONE Big Bang. The fight between Moraes and Johnson was earlier booked for April earlier this year. However, due to the pandemic, ONE had to reschedule the event. Having restarted their operations, the promotion is now slowly putting up bigger shows.

Adriano Moraes won the flyweight belt in January last year by defeating Geje Eustaquio. Training out of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, Moraes is an ace BJJ artist. He has only lost thrice in his career, with all the setbacks coming via split decisions. However, he will have his task cut out for him when he steps in against, arguably, the best flyweight on the planet.

Demetrious Johnson has won the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix in 2019

A former UFC pound-for-pound number one, ‘Mighty Mouse’ was one of the best fighters on the UFC roster. After he lost his belt to Henry Cejudo via a slightly controversial split decision, the UFC sent him over to ONE Championship in a deal that brought Ben Askren to the UFC.

Two years down the line, the deal doesn’t seem to have worked out for the UFC. Following a sub-par run in the UFC, Askren has retired from the sport. Meanwhile, ‘Mighty Mouse’ has bounced back from the loss against Cejudo with three back-to-back victories in ONE Championship.

The wins also garnered him the title of ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix winner. On top of it, he has earned his right to challenge Moraes for the flyweight gold. Had it not been for the pandemic, he might have already regained his ‘champ’ status.

In an interview with EssentiallySports a few months back, Johnson said that he was a bit frustrated with the fight getting delayed. However, he couldn’t help but accept that he loved the time away from the sport as he could spend more of it with his family.

At 33 years of age, one of the greatest fighters of our generation may only have four or five years more left in him. Therefore, Johnson will surely try to reap the most out of those years.

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