In a rematch seven years in the making, Adriano Moraes and Danny Kingad clash at ONE 169.
Top-ranked flyweight MMA fighter Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes expects a tougher outing when he faces third-ranked contender Danny “The King” Kingad in a rematch.
The two top flyweights will tangle in a crucial fight at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug on Saturday, November 9, inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
After submitting Kingad inside one round in their initial meeting in 2017, Moraes believes the Filipino has improved in the ground scrambles, while polishing his known strengths such as striking.
“His strong point is undoubtedly his striking. He combines wushu with kickboxing very well. He has very fast hands, hits the body and head, and also has fast kicks to the legs, body, and head,” he said.
“He is a very dynamic athlete in striking. He has some wrestling scrambles that are very characteristic of Team Lakay, his former team, so he defends well in jiu-jitsu. But that’s what I’m going to work on to counter-attack.
“And the part that leaves the most to be desired is Muay Thai, the clinch part, the use of angles and knees. And, of course, jiu-jitsu. I believe that jiu-jitsu is his weakness.”
But while Kingad has improved, Moraes still sees the same weakness that he can exploit.
Though he does not expect to finish Kingad quickly this time around, he believes that his strengths still fall into the Lions Nation MMA representative’s biggest flaw – his ground game.
“In the first fight, I managed to take him down and work my jiu-jitsu well, so he knows that my jiu-jitsu is better than his,” he said.
“I’m sure he’s been working on his ground game a lot. But I believe that the ground game is his weak point, and the strongest part of my game is jiu-jitsu, without a doubt.”