Former ONE Championship titleholder Adriano Moraes made a statement in his return to the win column.
At ONE 169, which took place at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, former ONE Championship flyweight champion Moraes (21-5) returned to action for his first fight of 2024 to face Danny Kingad. At 4:14 of Round 2, Moraes recorded his 15th career finish by submitting Kingad (15-5) with a guillotine choke.
Kingad didn’t make it easy early in the fight. He used a solid grappling approach to neutralize Moraes, making the opening round challenging.
However, in the second frame, the fight remained on the feet much longer, allowing Moraes to find his rhythm in the fight. Then out of nowhere, he jumped on an arm-in guillotine attempt, bringing Kingad down to the mat. The squeeze was tight, and Kingad had no choice but to tap.
“The champ is back!” Moraes yelled to start his post-fight interview.
The result marked the return to the winner’s circle for Moraes, who competed for the first time after losing back-to-back fights against MMA’s consensus flyweight GOAT, Demetrious Johnson. Moraes won the first fight in their saga by brutal knockout to record his first title defense, but then came up short in the rematch and trilogy bout.
The title is currently vacant, as Johnson retired as champion. Moraes could find himself in a fight for the
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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: ONE 169 video: Former champ Adriano Moraes wraps up Danny Kingad for submission finish
Adriano Moraes,Danny Kingad,Demetrious Johnson
