Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes sits on ONE Championship’s flyweight throne for one clear reason: He is simply the best in the business.

The promotion’s flyweight division may house some of the most talented MMA fighters on the planet, but since claiming the inaugural ONE flyweight world title in September 2014, the Brazilian has been nearly flawless when defending the gold.

Moraes uses his pristine Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills and striking artillery to dismantle opponents. That has led him to a 20-3 record with a 70 percent finishing rate. What’s more, he has never lost via stoppage in his entire career.

Ahead of his world title rematch against Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson at ONE 161 on Friday, August 26, we take a look at some of the Brazilian’s best performances yet.

1. Becoming the first fighter to knock out ‘Mighty Mouse’

Moraes has produced several highlight-reel moments throughout his career. However, his most shocking one yet came against 12-time MMA world champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in April 2021.

The Brazilian kingpin conquered his American foe by outmuscling him on the ground and tagging him with strikes.

Johnson, who many consider the MMA GOAT, repeatedly found a path around the defending titleholder’s weapons. But just as he started getting comfortable, Moraes uncorked a short right hook that sent him to the canvas.

“Mikinho” jumped on top of him to unleash his ground-and-pound. But as “Mighty Mouse” tried getting back to his feet, the Brazilian landed a stinging left knee to the head that immediately turned the American’s lights off.

Moraes earned the second-round victory and became the first man ever to knock out Johnson.

2. Come-from-behind triumph against Eugene Toquero

After losing his ONE flyweight world title to then-undefeated Kairat “The Kazakh” Akhmetov via split decision in November 2015, Moraes was eager to get it back and was willing to go through anybody to get another crack at the belt.

Four months later, the Brazilian officially kicked off his path back to the gold and made a statement when he fought Eugene Toquero.

Moraes was the heavy favorite entering the contest, but the Filipino hard-hitter made life a little difficult for the division’s former king.

Despite scoring back-to-back takedowns, “Mikinho” was constantly frustrated by his rival’s ability to find an escape route back to the feet.

Then, one flying knee from Toquero changed the flow of the match. The Filipino connected cleanly on Moraes’ face, causing the Brazilian to lose his footing. Toquero advanced with more strikes in hopes of claiming a huge upset.

However, the American Top Team representative hung on and shocked his rival with a finish that no one saw coming. Moraes took Toquero to the canvas, worked his way to a brabo choke, and submitted him with just seven seconds remaining in the first round.

When looking for comeback victories, there are few that could match this one.

3. Putting an end to Kairat Akhmetov’s perfect 23-0 record

Following his submission victory over Toquero, Moraes tapped out Tilek Batyrov to win the ONE Interim Flyweight World Title in August 2016.

That all but guaranteed “Mikinho” a chance to unify the belts with Akhmetov, who had been sidelined with a career-threatening back injury.

Fortunately, “The Kazakh” recovered and was all set for the epic world title unification bout in August 2017. Though it went to a decision, the judges weren’t so split this time.

The Brazilian was at his absolute best for this rematch. His movement, pace, and fight IQ repeatedly pushed Akhmetov into reverse gear. The latter’s elite grappling, which proved to be too tricky for Moraes in their first world title showdown nearly two years earlier, was overpowered by everything “Mikinho” had under his sleeve.

Moraes defended magnificently against the takedowns, always appeared a few steps ahead of “The Kazakh,” and outgunned him in the striking department.

By the end of the five-round thriller, the Brazilian had executed his revenge plan to perfection. He took home the unanimous decision win, unified the ONE flyweight world titles, and became the first athlete to beat Akhmetov.