ADRIANO MORAES KOs DEMETRIOUS JOHNSON
#ONEonTNT1 pic.twitter.com/r49jMmrx9u— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport)
April 8, 2021
Adriano
Moraes did what no one in the UFC was ever able to do: finish
Demetrious
Johnson.
Moraes retained his One Championship flyweight belt in emphatic
fashion, knocking out Johnson in the
One on TNT 1 headliner at Singapore Indoor Stadium in front of
a national television audience on Wednesday night. The end came
2:24 into Round 2, as “Mighty Mouse” was finished for the first
time in 35 professional bouts.
“It’s part of the game,” said Johnson, who has long been regarded
as one of the top pound-for-pound talents in the sport. “You’re in
the game for so long, it’s bound to happen one of these days,
right?
“He did a good job keeping the range and distance. He caught me
slipping and was able to catch me.”
Johnson led the dance early in the fight, as he initiated the
clinch and landed some knees in close quarters. However, Moraes
would spend a significant portion of the opening frame in top
position following a scramble in the second half of the round.
It was in Round 2 where the American Top Team representative put a
definitive stamp on the fight. A short uppercut from Moraes sent
Johnson stumbling to the fence, and when “Mighty Mouse” attempted
to return to his feet, he ate a knee flush to face for his
troubles. The contest was essentially over at that point, but
Moraes landed three laser standing-to-ground punches to seal the
deal.
“I don’t have words to describe this moment. We did it,” Moraes
said. “I grew up watching DJ fight. He’s a legend.”
Illegal Blows Result in Disqualification Loss for Alvarez
Eddie
Alvarez’s third One Championship appearance was one to forget
for “The Underground King.”
The former UFC and Bellator champion was disqualified after landing
multiple blows to the back of Iuri
Lapicus’ early in the opening round of their lightweight clash.
After a brief pause in the action, referee Justin Brown handed
Alvarez a red card, ending the bout shortly after it began. An
official time for the stoppage was not announced, though it
appeared to occur around the one-minute mark.
Alvarez (30-8, 1 NC, 1-2 One) wasted little time taking Lapicus
(15-1, 3-1 One) to the canvas near the cage. The Philadelphia
native then wrapped up his foe’s legs with his own and began
landing punches to the head. While some landed to the side of the
head or behind the ear, a few appeared to also connect illegally.
After the initial warning, Lapicus yelped in pain and fell back to
the canvas. Alvarez
landed a few more blows on his prone adversary before Brown
intervened and stopped the bout.
Alvarez was at a loss after the disappointing ending to the
bout.
“Iuri was turning his head the other way, and the referee warned
me… So you see me take my head and I start shoving his head toward
my punch,” Alvarez said in a post-fight interview. “On top of that,
I felt like as long as it’s the ear, as long as I’m hitting the ear
at some point, it’s legal.
“I’m praying for Iuri right now and I hope he’s fine. You put me in
a cage and I don’t know what to do in here — I’m trying to survive.
The ref made his call and I’ve got to respect it.”
’Reug Reug’ Overwhelms Kickboxer Schmid
Oumar
Kane gave kickboxer Patrick
Schmid a rude welcome to the MMA realm, winning their
heavyweight bout via technical knockout. “Reug Reug” brought an end
to the contest 1:48 into Round 1 with a series of unanswered right
hands to the head of his defenseless foe.
After a brief feeling-out period, Kane (3-0, 2-0 One) swarmed
Schmid with looping power punches. That had his opponent on the
retreat before the Senegalese wrestler tracked him down near the
fence and slammed him to the mat. From there, “Reug Reug” battered
Schmid (0-1, 0-1 One) with standing-to-ground punches and
hammerfists before the Swiss fighter moved onto all fours. Kane
continued his assault until referee Mohamad
Sulaiman decided he had seen enough.
Schmid was originally slated to face Rade Opacic in a kickboxing
bout on Wednesday’s card but made his pro MMA debut after Opacic
was pulled from the event due to health and safety protocols.
Magomedaliev Wins Grinding Battle vs. McGuire
Eagles MMA representative Raimond
Magomedaliev earned his third consecutive triumph under the One
banner, taking a hard-fought decision over Tyler
McGuire in a preliminary welterweight encounter. All three
judges scored the fight in favor of Magomedaliev.
The Dagestani fighter did some of his best work in the opening
stanza, when he landed knees to the midsection and short elbows to
the head of his opponent. One of those elbows appeared to open a
cut near the left eye of McGuire, who remained diligent in his
attempts to close the distance. The pace slowed over the final 10
minutes, but Magomedaliev (8-1, 3-1 One) for the most part did a
solid job either defending his opponent’s takedown attempts or
reversing into top position.
McGuire (12-2, 2-2 One) had his best moment at the beginning of
Round 3, when he landed an early takedown, passed to half-guard and
stayed busy with moderate ground-and-pound from top position.
Eventually, Magomedaliev used a kimura to reverse position, and he
made the bloodied American pay with more knees to the face as they
returned to their feet. Magomedaliev ended the contest by
threatening with a guillotine choke.
Muay Thai: Jitmuangon Takes Entertaining Win Over Williams
Rodtang Jitmuangnon lived up to the hype, but Danial Williams
didn’t back down. The end result was an entertaining muay Thai
slugfest that Jitmuangnon won via unanimous decision.
Jitmuangnon, who fights out of Thailand, did his best work in the
second stanza, when he floored Williams with a left hook and then
swarmed for the finish with an aggressive barrage of elbows that
cut his foe near his left eye. Australia’s Williams earned plenty
of respect in defeat, and he rallied in Round 3 to trade willingly
in the pocket with Jitmuangnon, but it wasn’t enough to sway the
scorecards in his favor.
Kickboxing: Kehl Takes Split Verdict Over Allazov
Enriko Kehl edged Chingiz Allazov via split decision in a One Super
Series featherweight kickboxing matchup, earning two of the three
cageside judges’ scorecards.
Both men proved willing to trade blows from the outset, and Allazov
(56-5-1) appeared to have the edge early thanks to a steady diet of
punches and kicks to the liver of his opponent. However, as the
bout progressed, Kehl (51-15-2) took control behind forward
pressure, head movement and consistent combination attacks. In
victory, Kehl avenged KO loss to Allazov that occurred in 2016 in
Monaco.