MMA: Kingad sees close fight in Moraes-Johnson rematch

ABS-CBN News

Posted at Aug 05 2022 04:42 PM

The MMA world will be tuned in to the climactic rematch between ONE flyweight champion Adriano Moraes and the legendary Demetrious Johnson at ONE on Prime Video 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II.

And just like any other fight fan, No. 4-ranked ONE flyweight Danny Kingad will be tuning in for the match on August 27 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. ONE on Prime Video 1 will also be the first ONE Championship card that will stream live on Amazon Prime Video on US primetime. 

Kingad expects the world title rematch between Moraes and Johnson to be a martial arts spectacle. What he can’t say for sure, however, is who will be leaving Singapore with the gold.

The Team Lakay star pointed out how both fighters have been ramping up their preparations for the match. Moraes has been grinding it out at his home gym of American Top Team in Florida, while Johnson recently trained with former UFC rival Henry Cejudo.

“This rematch will, of course, be an exciting match. I think DJ’s been putting in the work because I saw on his social media posts that he’s been training with Cejudo. I think Cejudo’s been helping DJ in his training. I really don’t know what will happen in this match, but I’m sure that this will be a great fight. There will surely be differences from their last match,” Kingad said.

Moraes first defended the title against Johnson at ONE on TNT I in April 2021 in a chess match of a fight. Both fighters had moments holding dominant positions but the fight largely happened on the feet. 

The second round saw arguably the most iconic knee strike in ONE Championship, when Moraes cracked Johnson with a thunderous left knee to remain the flyweight king.

Kingad, who fought both Moraes and Johnson in two high-profile matches, believes the two fighters have greatly improved since their 2021 meeting.

“Adriano is now much better on his feet, he’s more comfortable on his striking compared to before. He usually favored his grappling in his previous fights, but he’s now moving better on stand-up scenarios,” he continued.

“DJ improves every day. He’s always working on something to get better, it’s almost impossible to see what his weaknesses are. He can also train with other elite fighters there abroad that’s why he’s always improving.”

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