Demetrious Johnson will finally get his shot at becoming a champion in another organization.
Johnson joined ONE Championship in 2018 after departing the UFC in a historic trade that saw Ben Askren go the other way.
“Mighty Mouse” quickly swept through the competition en route to winning the ONE Flyweight Grand Prix following his unanimous decision win over Danny Kingad in October.
He will now face current flyweight champion Adriano Moraes as ONE chairman Chatri Sityodtong announced the matchup would take place at the promotion’s Reign of Dynasties event set for April 11 in Chongqing, China.
BREAKING NEWS: Demetrious Johnson (30-3) will challenge ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes (18-3) for the world title on April 11 in China!
— Chatri Sityodtong (@yodchatri) January 13, 2020
For Moraes, it will be his first title defense since reclaiming the flyweight strap against Geje Eustaquio back in January 2019. As a result, it will also be his first fight in nearly 15 months.
However, the Brazilian was not too impressed by what he saw from the former UFC flyweight king.
“He dominated his last two fights, but didn’t impress me that much,” Moraes told MMA Fighting in October. “I believe that a fight with me with will be way better, and we’ll put on a show.
“… I don’t think it will last five rounds. I think I have some weapons that he does not. I think my reach will help me a lot in this fight, and I don’t think it goes five rounds. He usually takes the fight to the ground, but I don’t know if he will try that against me because I’m also a grappler. If we stay on the feet, I have an advantage.”
We will get to see if that is the case in just under three months.
