Adriano
Moraes wants to be free of constraints.
The three-time ONE
Championship flyweight titleholder claims his contract with the
Singapore-based organization expired in March, though he admits a
few more details need to be ironed out before he takes his talent
to another promotion. If this does turn out to be the end of
Moraes’ tenure with One, it will have included 12 victories in 18
appearances and a career-defining trilogy with the great Demetrious
Johnson.
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“Unfortunately, I lost the final fight [with Johnson] by points at
a great event in Colorado,” he told Sherdog.com. “They offered to
renew me [and] I accepted, but from that point on, they greatly
reduced their number of MMA bouts. Things were very slow,
especially after Demetrious retired.”
Moraes, now 36, has not fought since he suffered a technical
knockout loss to Yuya
Wakamatsu in the first round of their One 172 encounter on
March 23, 2025. Nearly a year has passed since.
“I expected to be offered another [fight], per my contract,” Moraes
said. “It never happened. My contract eventually ran out on Aug.
30, but they gave me a six-month ‘medical extension.’ I’m not sure
how that works. The six months ran out on March 2. They let my
contract run out without any offers, and that’s how I ended up
being a free agent.”
Adriano Moraes: ‘I won’t renew’ with One Championship
The two sides have since been in touch, but Moraes indicated he has
no plans to re-sign with One Championship.
“One Championship got in contact with me,” he said. “I’m analyzing
their latest replies, so I can be truly free. There are some
matching offer clauses to be considered, but my contract literally
ended. I didn’t renew—and I won’t renew. I’m ready to be a free
agent, but we’re supposed to have a meeting about matching
offers.
“I expect they’ll reply by the end of the week, whether they’ll
make another offer or if they’ll continue to keep me prisoner,”
Moraes added. “I haven’t received any bookings for over a year. My
contract ran out. My manager is in touch with some organizations so
we can weigh our options. Nothing is for sure yet.”