ONE Championship is the UFC’s competition in Asia. An organization filled with sensational talent, unknown to the North American market. However, the level of competition and adventurous opportunity has seen former champions from the UFC, such as the widely renowned, Demetrious Johnson make their way to ONE.
“Mighty Mouse”, is considered by many as the greatest flyweight of all time. At 125 pounds in the UFC, Johnson’s reign can be described as mythical. A record 11 consecutive title defences, in which an array of skills were put on display that Georges St. Pierre labeled as, “the best ever.”
After a razor close split-decision loss to Henry Cejudo, the UFC traded Johnson to ONE in exchange for former Olympian, Ben Askren. The move gave Johnson a fresh look, and a chance to further enhance his legendary career and resume. Johnson came into ONE at 135 pounds, a full weight class bigger than he had dominated at. With that said, Johnson entered the grand prix, a tournament designed to award the winner a shot at the champion, and was successful. With Johnson locked in to fight the champion at 135, Adriano Moraes on April 4th, ONE decided to make their introduction to the North American audience.
Betting odds in Vegas closed with Johnson as quite a considerable favourite over the Brazilian Moraes. The champion consistently expressed his admiration and fandom for Johnson pre-fight. But, that did not stop him from claiming he would finish Johnson. “I’m the champion, every time I defend my throne, it’s gonna be a special fight, and this time it’s gonna be against a legend – I’m gonna do good, put on a show, and finish him in a very good way.” The aforementioned unknown talent to the western audience proved he not only talks the talk, but walks the walk. Moraes knocked out Johnson with a vicious knee that shook the globe. The shockwaves surprised many across the planet, except for those at ONE.
Michael Schiavello, the popular commentator in mixed martial arts working for ONE currently, stated immediately following the conclusion of the fight, “if you know you know. If you don’t know now you do. It’s not a shock to Adriano, or the people who have seen him dominate.” It was the first loss in Johnson’s career in which he was unable to make it to the final bell. This begs the question, will this result catapult interest in the Singapore based fighting organization?
With Demetrious Johnson, you have an established brand whose records and highlight reel are spoken as if it were folklore. Moraes is a fantastic mixed martial artist, but is far from popular in North America. That could change thanks to the deal ONE has made with TNT, a major network in the United States, which will see their events broadcasted nationally. Adding a name like, “Mighty Mouse”, to Moraes’ resume is in essence, the equivalent to Persues severing Medusa’s head. It may sound like hyperbole to the casual fan, but Johnson is simply that heralded in the sport. The result will hopefully shine a light on Moraes, who graciously offered Johnson a rematch when they met after the fight backstage. The inaugural showing on TNT was simply put, one for the books.
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