The billing for ONE 169: Atlanta continues to get hotter with the announcement of a thrilling rematch seven years in the making between two elite flyweight MMA stars this week.
On Saturday, 9th November, former divisional king Adriano Moraes will meet #3-ranked contender Danny Kingad again inside Atlanta, Georgia’s State Farm Arena.
ONE 169 will be Moraes’ first appearance since losing his trilogy bout with ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion Demetrious Johnson last May at ONE Fight Night 10.
The Brazilian shocked the MMA world when he handed Johnson the first knockout loss of his legendary career to successfully defend the flyweight MMA crown in their first battle at ONE on TNT I in April 2021. But he couldn’t put down the might of the American in the next two bouts.
Nonetheless, “Mikinho” has been a force in the stacked division for over a decade now, and he has held the World Title on numerous occasions.
He last met Kingad during his second reign at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD in November 2017. That night, Moraes finished the Filipino fan-favourite in front of his hometown crowd in Manila via a first-round rear-naked choke.
Prior to their battle, “The King” had made a name for himself with three promotional wins in a row. But his momentum was quickly stopped when he came up against Moraes.
Since then, Kingad has consistently stayed within shooting distance of the gold. Though he has gone 2-2 in his last four bouts, his 11 wins from 15 outings in ONE Championship shows he can get the job done.
The 28-year-old was last in action this past January at ONE 165 in Tokyo, where he fell to a narrow decision loss against #2-ranked contender Yuya Wakamatsu. However, before that, he brought an end to Indonesian finisher Eko Roni Saputra’s startling seven-fight winning streak at ONE Fight Night 7.
Moraes will undoubtedly be out to remind the world how dominant he can be at ONE 169. But Kingad will know that a win over the former divisional top dog will go a long way towards keeping him in the fight for a World Title shot, so fans can expect him to throw everything at “Mikinho” in their rematch.
