MMA News

Tag: Yuya Wakamatsu

  • Demetrious Johnson’s Successor Crowned As Adriano Moraes Suffers Shock Loss In ONE 172 Title Fight

    Demetrious Johnson’s Successor Crowned As Adriano Moraes Suffers Shock Loss In ONE 172 Title Fight

    Following Demetrious Johnson’s retirement last year, ONE Championship finally has a new flyweight king.

    Johnson officially announced his retirement from the sport of MMA at ONE 168 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado last September following 15 months of uncertainty. His final fight was a headline victory at ONE Fight Night 10, the Asian promotion’s United States debut in May 2023.

    After outpointing Adriano Moraes in their trilogy to keep hold of the ONE flyweight title, “Mighty Mouse” hinted that the victory may have marked his farewell. That ultimately turned out to be the case, with Johnson confirming his decision to hang up the gloves by delivering an emotional speech in front of his family and adoring fans.

    Months later, the promotion began to move forward as life without Johnson got underway, announcing a vacant title fight between former champ Moraes and a man whom he’d already beaten, Yuya Wakamatsu.

    That went down Sunday morning at ONE 172 in Japan, where the home favorite upset “Mikinho” with a first-round knockout.

    https://twitter.com/GBearMMA/status/1903776343990366622

    The result means a name other than Johnson or Moraes now holds the flyweight title for the first time in over six years.

    Wakamatsu won three straight over Wei Xie, Danny Kingad, and Gilbert Nakatani to earn a rematch with Moraes. “Little Piranha” previously made an unsuccessful challenge for the Brazilian’s belt back in 2022.

  • ONE Championship Announces Fight For Title Vacated After Demetrious Johnson’s Retirement

    ONE Championship Announces Fight For Title Vacated After Demetrious Johnson’s Retirement

    ONE Championship has announced that on March 23 at ONE 172, the promotion will crown a new flyweight champion in the co-main event of the evening. The title has been left vacant ever since Demetrious Johnson announced his retirement at the Ball Arena in Denver this past September at ONE 168.

    Following several high stakes contests at flyweight, the two top contenders that will battle for the gold have emerged. Brazil’s Adriano Moraes is a multiple time flyweight champion in ONE and was the inaugural holder of the title back in 2014. In his latest title reign, he ended his trilogy of fights with Geje Eustaquio before becoming the first man to finish Johnson in 2021 which kickstarted their trilogy of fights.

    Moraes recently returned to the win column in Johnson’s absence by beating Danny Kingad at ONE 169 in November via a submission in the second round. “Mikinho” is now set to face off with Japan’s Yuya Wakamatsu who is sure to receive an incredible amount of support at the Saitama Super Arena on March 23.

    Wakamatsu previously challenged Moraes for the flyweight title in 2022 at ONE: X where he was submitted in the third round. After suffering back-to-back defeats, “Little Pranha” has won three in a row including a dominant victory at the start of December over Gilbert Nakatani.

    This huge card is set to be headlined by arguably the biggest fight in the history of the promotion as Rodtang Jitmuangnon faces off with Takeru Segawa in a kickboxing super fight that has been building ever since their matchup at ONE 165 earlier this year fell through due to an injury to the Thai superstar. There is sure to be a lot more top Japanese talent on the card for what will be ONE’s biggest event to date.