Demetrious Johnson to Face Adriano Moraes for ONE Flyweight Title on Feb. 24

The highly anticipated title match between Demetrious Johnson and flyweight champion Adriano Moraes will take place Feb. 24, as announced during ONE: Big Bang on Friday morning.

Their match was originally scheduled for April 11 of this year, but it was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

After winning the ONE flyweight world grand prix tournament in October 2019, Johnson became the No. 1 contender for Moraes' title. The former UFC champion is 3-0 at ONE after defeating Yuya Wakamatsu, Tatsumitsu Wada and Danny Kingad on his way to the world grand prix championship.

Now, "Mighty Mouse" looks to become the first athlete to win both a UFC and ONE belt. During his time in the UFC, the Kirkland, Washington, resident was flyweight champion for six years and still owns the record for most consecutive title defenses with 11.

The 31-year-old Moraes is the only ONE athlete to win a belt on three separate occasions after he reclaimed it in January of 2019, and he is considered to be the best flyweight in the promotion's history. The Brazilian will go into the match having not competed since reclaiming the title, but the 18-3 veteran waited for a world grand prix winner to emerge and told ONE he's excited to test himself against who many consider the greatest flyweight of all time.

"I've been waiting for this legend versus legend fight—me and DJ—to see who is the best flyweight in the world," Moraes said. "I have the chance to show the world, my friends and my family what I have been working so hard for."

Moraes has beaten the best flyweights ONE had to offer over the years, including Geje Eustaquio twice, Kairat Akhmetov and Kingad en route to three title reigns. 

For a promotion that hangs its hat on the competitiveness of their smaller weight divisions, this match should highlight just that as one of the most important bouts in ONE history. Johnson's quest to be considered the greatest pound-for-pound mixed martial artist of all time will take a major leap with a win over a vastly underrated Moraes, who has been close to the top of ONE's talent pool for years now.

The Feb. 24 event will stream on B/R Live and on the B/R app.