ONE on Prime Video 1 Aftermath : What a stupid name...
Seriously, ONE on Prime Video? Mighty Bellator of you, Chatri...
Tell me what you thought of Demetrious Johnson at ONE on Prime Video 1!
Last Friday, ONE Championship made their Amazon Prime debut on US prime time. The event featured a rematch between Adriano Moraes and Demetrious Johnson. The first fight saw Moraes upset Mighty Mouse and retain his flyweight title. The event was actually quite good, as ONE Championship generally has great events. But let's take a second and make fun of them. This card was titled ONE on Prime Video 1. How terrible is that? It seems like ONE lost their leverage against the behemoth that is Amazon and Amazon's marketing team is requiring ONE to put the name in the event. Or ONE is trying to gather clout by associating themselves with Amazon. The simple numbering structure really would have been enough but now we have to start at 1 again. Anyhow, enough picking lets get into the fight.
Adriano Moraes: Just not enough depth to his game
When Adriano Moraes knocked out Demetrious Johnson, the whole world stood still. "He's too big, basically a lightweight," they said. Nobody wanted to give Moraes his due. But that win was decisive. He showed that not only he, but ONE Championship fighters are some of the best in the world. The grounded knee did Mighty Mouse in and Moraes was the rightful champion.
Fast forward to ONE on Prime Video 1 (ugh) and we see that Moraes, while good enough to beat Demetrious Johnson some of the time, isn't good enough to beat him most of the time. Early in the fight, Moraes changed up the gameplan here and had success early on in the clinch, where DJ is very, very good. In the first fight, Moraes skipped along the cage and made Johnson impatient and waited for him to rush in, which he did. He caught Johnson and ultimately put him away. Here, he got to the ground in the clinch but managed to not get much ground and pound going. As a matter of fact, it was he that was bloodied up from elbows despite being on top.
Moraes also caught Johnson with a head kick as Johnson rushed in. Wobbled, Johnson couldn't stay up but managed to survive on a failed takedown. Moraes punished Johnson there and landed some knees while he was downed. But he couldn't put him away.
Eventually, the pressure got to Adriano Moraes and he melted under the pressure. Being on his back foot for most of the fight now, his speed compromised his length and Johnson was in full control. Moraes telegraphed his punches and paid the ultimate price by being finished in round 4.
Demetrious Johnson: Probably the GOAT
Demetrious Johnson is very good at fighting but is 36 years old. For a flyweight, that's ancient. He showed that while he's slowed down, Demetrious Johnson is still one of the best fighters in the world and it's his technique, not athleticism, that has kept him around. In Revisiting Demetrious Johnson vs. Adriano Moraes: How Can DJ win? I talked about some things Johnson could do to beat Moraes. He pretty much did the opposite of all that. Instead of using the cross to counter Adriano Moraes on the kicks, Johnson kicked him, a viable technique. Patience? Naaaa. Demetrious Johnson would go out there and get his opponent.
The only thing he tried to do that Moraes did a good job of was in the early part of the fight where Moraes had Johnson on the ground. Johnson was against the cage and Moraes was in half for most of the time. Johnson looked to transition and walk up the fence like Prochazka did against Teixeira in their title fight. But Moraes was smart and pulled Johnson away from the fence. Another time, Moraes had Johnson reaching to the fence with his feet but had no luck because he was just out of range.
Regardless, Johnson was the better fighter and showed that Moraes may have won fair and square against him in their first fight. But his opponents are going to need more depth as a fighter to beat the GOAT. Johnson kept coming forward, he fought in the clinch, strikes from the bottom, if there was a moment and space for Demetrious Johnson to use some offense, he used it well.
Looking at the finish, we get one of those masterful Demetrious Johnson finishes that couldn't get him attention in the UFC. In round four, the pressure pays off and Johnson is going to give us a new highlight. As he's done since round three, (1) Johnson is crowding Adriano Moraes in his traditional Thai stance. This puts pressure on Moraes to throw something with Johnson while he's in the pocket, where Moraes is trying to keep Johnson out of. (2) Coaxed into throwing something, Moraes throws a lead left hook. While out of range, Johnson still slips the punch which loads his back foot up for the next move. (3) Johnson uses the dip to throw a huge right cross that stuns Moraes and knocks him off balance. But Johnson is not done yet. (4) He stays on Moraes, crowding the Brazilian and causing him to fall back. Johnson has great ring awareness and knows that Moraes only has limited room to go backwards. As he sees Moraes fall back (5) he knows Adriano Moraes has finally run out of room and his next attack can compound off the abrupt stop as Moraes hits the fence. Johnson throws the fatality blow and lands a flying knee for the walk off finish.
It was truly magic again for Demtrious Johnson as he put away the only person to knock him out. He's captured another belt. At 36, I don't know how long Johnson has left. Flyweight is a division that fighters get old quicker. But his knowledge of fighting will still be there and that can carry him a long way. Should he want to go get the kickboxing or Muay Thai belt, that could be a fun challenge. Jiu Jitsu is out there too. The world is his oyster. His knees are his oyster knife.