ONE Championship prepares for USA mainland debut with Johnson vs Moraes III clash

6 December, 2022

ONE Championship is gearing itself for another exciting chapter in its history as they prepare for its United States mainland debut next year. This much-awaited debut will commence with the trilogy fight between ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes headlining ONE on Prime Video 10.

Johnson vs. Moraes III, which is often touted to be the greatest trilogy match in flyweight mixed martial arts history, will transpire on May 5, 2023, at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado.

It is interesting to note that ONE Championship already has a considerable presence on American screens. However, the fight between Johnson and Moraes will be the first time that the promotion sets a card on US soil.

Johnson and Moraes are well renowned in professional MMA for dominating MMA’s flyweight division throughout 2010.

These two fighters, who are often touted as the best in their department, kept creating their legacies from opposite ends of the world, ‘Mighty Mouse’ is considered one of the greatest fighters ever, having defended the UFC flyweight world title a record 11 times, a feat that will demand a major effort to be broken. During that unforgettable run, Johnson beat the likes of Henry Cejudo, Ray Borg, John Dodson, and Kyoji Horiguchi.

Johnson made a move to the ONE Championship in 2019 after that heroic spell, where he continued his brilliance by winning the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Championship at ONE: Century Part I in October of that year.

Moraes, on the other hand, is renowned for defining the flyweight division in ONE Championship. The Brazilian superstar became the inaugural ONE flyweight world champion when he beat rival Geje Eustaquio at ONE: Rise of the Kingdom in September 2014 in one of the most unforgettable matches of his career.

Though he lost the championship belt to Kairat Akhmetov in November 2015, Moraes was not intent on giving up and continued to work hard. ‘Mikinho’ captured interim gold when he submitted Tilek Batyrov in the second round at ONE: Heroes of the World in August 2016. Moraes then unified the world titles when he beat Akhmetov via unanimous decision a year later at ONE: Kings and Conquerors.