One Championship is putting its best foot forward for its debut on the Amazon streaming service.
On Friday, Ariel Helwani first broke the news that the first One event on Amazon Prime will take place on Aug. 26, locally on Aug. 27. The event, titled One 161, will be held inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium like all other recent One cards, but it will air live for U.S.-based audiences. As subsequently announced by One, the headliner will come in a rematch at 135 pounds, when Adriano Moraes (20-3) puts his belt on the line against Demetrious Johnson (30-4-1). No other bouts have yet been announced.
Since becoming the first fighter to finish the man known as “Mighty Mouse” — Moraes flattened Johnson with a knee at One on TNT 1 in 2021 — Moraes rattled off one additional title defense against Yuya Wakamatsu in March. The only three career losses for “Mikinho” have come by split decision, and he has avenged the last two, with a pair of unanimous decisions over Kairat Akhmetov and Geje Eustaquio in 2017 and 2019, respectively. The three-time One flyweight (135 pounds) champ has successfully defended his belt twice on this current run, giving him the longest reign of any champ in divisional history.
Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Johnson has seen mixed results since coming to the promotion in a cross-organizational trade between the UFC and One for Ben Askren in 2018. While he won his first three fights against Wakamatsu, Tatsumitsu Wada and Danny Kingad, he has struggled with the opposition as he now competes at 135 pounds instead of the flyweight category in which he reigned in the UFC. When facing Moraes for the strap, Johnson succumbed to a knee in a match he appeared significantly outsized. Since then, Johnson’s only fight came in a mixed-rules match with Rodtang Jitmuangnon, and he tapped out the Muay Thai star in the second round when under MMA rules. “Mighty Mouse” still holds the UFC record for the most consecutive championship defenses with 11, with a tally that will not likely be broken any time soon.
More must-reads: