ONE Championship’s flyweight king, Adriano Moraes, doesn’t seem too concerned about Demetrious Johnson’s recent sojourn to train alongside grappling star Henry Cejudo.
The American veteran found his way to Cejudo’s gym in Arizona, where the two former world champions had the opportunity to spend time together on the mat.
Far from being intimidated at learning this, Moraes believes the experience was good for his upcoming opponent, but he stopped short of saying whether or not it will play a role in their upcoming rematch at ONE on Prime Video 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II on Aug. 26.
“It’s very cool that he is training with Henry Cejudo and looking to evolve as an athlete,” Moraes said. “I believe he will be very well prepared for this fight. Henry Cejudo can help him a lot with several requirements. But let’s see if this will help him in his next fight.”
The chief area where Cejudo could offer insight to Johnson is with his wrestling. The Olympic gold medalist is one of the most decorated grapplers to ever transition into mixed martial arts, and he found success in multiple promotions.
Any information imparted by the star may serve to be critical for “Mighty Mouse”, as Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Moraes likes to bring things to the canvas in his fights.
But the reigning ONE flyweight champion is more confident in his own camp. Training at American Top Team, Moraes has a plethora of talent across the martial arts spectrum that pushes him to be at his best.
“At ATT, we have a squad of lightweights,” said Moraes. “I have a lot of good training partners here. And my coaches are the same – Katel Kubis, Alemão, and Macarrão in Muay Thai, Gabriel and Ivan in boxing, Steve Mocco in wrestling, Marcos Parrumpinha in jiu-jitsu, Mike Brown helping in the MMA mix, and Conan Silveira as head coach.
“I seek to improve every day as an athlete and as a human being. I believe that is still my main objective. But I’m training to get there well on the day of the fight because I want to get there, in addition to being well prepared, without any injuries, which is my main focus. We are working hard, daily, so that I can arrive very focused and trained for the next fight.”
That said, “Mikinho” is not against exploring other training options as he seeks a second win against the MMA icon.
After the recent ONE x Prime Video press conference, Moraes got to train alongside the Ruotolo Brothers, Kade and Tye, and he took the opportunity to learn from the youngbloods who have taken the BJJ world by storm.
“I trained with them, yes,” Moraes said. “I arrived at RVCA to train, and they were already there. I got on the mat and already asked them a lot of questions because they have more modern jiu-jitsu positions. They’re following this evolution.
“I asked about various positions, and they were very humble and nice to me. They received me very well. And soon after, we trained. I trained with everybody. I trained with them [and] with Angela Lee too. It was very cool.”
Moraes and Johnson have each made adjustments to their preparation ahead of their second meeting at ONE on Prime Video 1, and the calendar is winding down to the date when the combat sports world gets to see who has made the right changes to get their hand raised.
ONE on Prime Video 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II airs on Prime Video at 9 p.m. ET on Aug. 26.