ONE champion Adriano Moraes eager to fight again

ONE Championship’s flyweight belt holder Adriano Moraes doesn’t bother himself with the extracurriculars of the fight game: Who does he fight next? How is he promoted? How many followers does he have on social media?

“I’m just here to work,” Moraes told Fight Night Picks’ John Hyon Ko. “I go fight, then come back home and take care of my family.”

Moraes (19-3), coming off a second-round TKO of flyweight legend Demetrious Johnson, talked with JHK about his legacy in ONE, the fight scene in Brazil and what he’s looking forward to next in a recent 20-minute interview.

When Moraes defeated Johnson in April, he was coming off a more than two-year-long layoff. The lengthy time away from the cage was trying for the Brazilian. Whether it was financially or hearing from fans or friends about his absence, it took its toll.

“Sometimes it’s hard; you want answers,” Moraes said. “You think ‘What are you doing here?’ But I had a good chat with my wife … and it helped me a lot to keep going and working hard every day and living the martial arts lifestyle.”

Moraes called his second-round TKO over Johnson the best performance of his life as he defended his flyweight title. Moraes won the inaugural flyweight belt in ONE in 2014. He relinquished it briefly before capturing it again in 2016.

His bout with Johnson was the last on his ONE contract, but Moraes said he hopes to continue with ONE for the foreseeable future.

“I want to have more fights in ONE Championship,” Moraes said. “I’m still young. I’m 32 but I feel 25.”

When that next fight may come is still to be determined but he hopes to fight again in September or October, he said. His opponent is also undetermined.

“I never choose a fight; I just accept a fight,