Demetrious Johnson is the perfect fighter to headline the debut of ONE Championship in the United States.
Demetrious Johnson right fit for ONE U.S. card
When you look at the current fight roster for ONE Championship, there is no better person to headline the first-ever United States event than Demetrious Johnson.
“Mighty Mouse” puts his flyweight title on the line this Friday night against former champion and rival Adriano Moraes. This marks the third meeting between the two.
The card takes place from the 1stBank Center in Denver, with the main card airing live on Amazon Prime following prelims on YouTube and Watch ONE.
Johnson, 36 years old, has hinted this could be his final fight. He joined ONE after a trade involving Ben Askren and made his debut in 2019.
In five ONE appearances, his lone loss came by knockout to Moraes in 2021, as he avenged it with a flying knee finish of his own last August to win the belt.
More ONE flyweight gold on the line
Along with Johnson, two more title fights are scheduled in the flyweight ranks.
Muay Thai champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon faces Edgar Tabares and submission grappling champion Mikey Musumeci defends vs. Osamah Almarwai.
Rodtang has put together a mind-boggling record of 270-42-10 in his Muay Thai career, as the 25-year-old has not lost since 2020. That is also his only defeat dating back to 2018, with both coming by decision.
Musumeci is an American from New Jersey who captured four World Championships in 2017, ’18, ’19 and ’21 in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He owns a record of 18-3 with eight submission wins in his sport.
Sage Northcutt is among those also in action
Former UFC fighter Sage Northcutt is also set for the main card, as he makes his return against Ahmed Mujtaba. Northcutt last fought in 2019 when he lost his ONE debut to Cosmo Alexandre.
Before that, Northcutt went 6-2 in eight UFC appearances, including a knockout of Zak Ottow.
The main card will see the likes of Stamp Fairtex and Aung La Nsang in action, while Reinier de Ridder and Kairat Akhmetov fight on the prelims. All have been key staples for ONE over the years.
