Adriano Moraes is 'hellbent' on finishing America's all-time great fighter Demetrious Johnson, One Championship boss says

• Adriano Moraes is determined to be the first fighter to finish Demetrious Johnson.
• The two One Championship fighters headline the company's first MMA event on TNT - US cable TV.
• One boss Chatri Sityodtong hopes his firm separates itself from others in America's MMA landscape.

Adriano Moraes is "hellbent on finishing" the all-time great American fighter Demetrious Johnson.

That's according to One Championship boss Chatri Sityodtong, who booked the 135-pound flyweight championship bout between his titleholder Moraes and his Grand Prix winner Johnson, for Wednesday, April 7.

The high-stakes match headlines One Championship's debut on the TNT network in the US, which Sityodtong hopes will usher in a new era of increased visibility for the Singapore-based MMA firm.

Johnson, a former UFC 125-pound flyweight champion, has fought three times since leaving the Las Vegas-headquartered combat sports promotion, earning a guillotine choke submission and two decision wins in One.

His midweek fight against Moraes is arguably his toughest One challenge yet. The Brazilian grappler has beaten every opponent he has faced since a split decision loss on his One debut in 2013.

"I had dinner with D.J. in Singapore, and he said since joining One Championship he has had the toughest fights of his career, just because the level of competition here is so high and he was blown away by how difficult his fights were," Sityodtong told Insider on Monday.

Johnson finished Yuya Wakamatsu in the second round of the flyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal in March 2019, labored to a win over Tatsumitsu Wada in the semifinal, and comfortably beat Danny Kingad in the final that same year.

"He was in danger in a couple of his fights which he never experienced in his prior organization [the UFC]," Sityodtong said.

"It's a very big moment [on Wednesday] because if D.J. wins he solidifies his name as the GOAT.

"But people are sleeping on Adriano - he's no slouch," said Sityodtong.

Moraes reigned as One's flyweight champion for 435 days from September 2014 before he became unstuck against Kairat Akhmetov in November 2015.

Moraes got a revenge win over the same fighter two years later, before losing the belt for a second time in 2018 against Geje Eustaquio. He then beat Eustaquio in an immediate rematch in January 2019.

He has not fought since then, but Sityodtong highlighted his champion's ground game and physical attributes as potential causes of concern for Johnson.

"Moraes is a very high-level Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, and I think he's 5-foot-9 or 5-foot-10 so he's very tall for his weight class. He's going to look huge next to Demetrious Johnson.

"He has an incredible life story going from an orphan to a world champion, and he's the nicest guy."

Sityodtong said: "I'm a big fan of his, and of D.J.'s. It'll be hard watching them fight because I love them both.

"Adriano's never been this way before a fight, though. I've never heard him say he's going to hurt somebody but he is really hellbent on finishing D.J.

"He wants to be the first person to finish D.J. and he's got his mind set on it."

The One on TNT 1 event begins a new era for Sityodtong's promotion

One Championship announced a new broadcast deal with Turner Sports, a subsidiary of AT&T's WarnerMedia, earlier this year.

Turner Sports has a vast portfolio of properties including NBA on TNT, Major League Baseball on TBS, the NCAA men's basketball championship, UEFA Champions League soccer, and All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

One Championship's deal with Turner Sports showcases four events every Wednesday in April beginning April 7, broadcasting at 10 p.m. EST with an AEW lead-in.

In a statement sent to Insider at the time the deal was announced, Turner Sports EVP Tina Shah said: "Our partnership [with One Championship] elevates the exposure for its top martial arts events in the US.

"This multi-faceted approach combines two leading platforms in Bleacher Report and TNT as we further expand the reach of these premier events and drive additional engagement with a broader audience."

While the UFC focuses solely on an elite MMA offering, Sityodtong hopes fight fans will also be drawn to his company as he promotes multiple disciplines including MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, submission grappling, and even the Burmese discipline of Lethwei.

The April 7 event features big-name American MMA fighters Johnson and Eddie Alvarez in separate fights, but also has One Championship's flyweight Muay Thai king Rodtang Jitmuangnon on the main fight card.

Sityodtong told us that the One Championship partnership with TNT is up for renewal later this year, but added that "both sides are leaning in heavily" on the April offerings.

"This is a really exciting moment because every Wednesday fans in America can see our unique brand of martial arts is completely different to anything else in the US right now."