Adriano Moraes – The Black Diamond of MMA

Adriano Moraes is a Brazilian Mixed Martial Art (MMA) artist, the ultimate ONE Flyweight Champion, and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) under Ataide.

Adriano is one of the top MMA fighters of his generation, who has won the title of ONE Flyweight Champion eight times. He achieved the biggest victory of his career in 2022 by being the first person ever to knock out the former UFC Flyweight Champion, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.

Adriano was nicknamed Mikinho during his Caporie days due to his agility and small size.

Adriano is well-known as the “Black Diamond” in the martial arts world, a nickname chosen by Adriano after signing his first international MMA contract. This name refers to his early life where was discovered in the midst of nowhere, like a dark diamond, and fashioned into a gleaming valuable work of art.

Born on April 21, 1989, in the Brasilia Federal District of Brazil, Adriano had a harsh childhood. He was abandoned as a newborn by his mother in a dark valley, where he was found by some person who took him to the Taguatinga (DF) Orphanage.

Adriano lived in the orphanage for about three years before being adopted by a kind lady, Mrs. Mirtes da Silva Moraes, who raised him like her own child.

Adriano was an energetic kid from the very beginning. His martial arts journey started at the age of seven when his mother enrolled him in judo classes after seeing his hyperactive nature. Adriano soon picked up the Brazilian art of capoeira as well.

Adriano was in bad company at that time and wanted to learn jiu-jitsu to defend himself better. Since he was a tiny boy, he was told that he should train in BJJ, a sport where his small size would be less of a hindrance.

At the age of 16, Adriano joined Coach Uruguay Rodrigues Junior’s gym with his friends and started his jiu-jitsu training.

Adriano Moraes turned out to be a natural talent in BJJ. His BJJ career flourished while training with Coach Erick Mederios at the UAE Academy. Soon after that, he joined Team Constrictor, where he met Coach Ataide.

After being trained by the two renowned coaches, Adriano made a name for himself in the grappling tournaments, becoming a submission specialist in his state.

In 2014, Adriano Moraes won the NAGA No-Gi Pro Division Championship. He also finished a degree in advertising as well. 

On March 6, 2015, he was awarded a black belt by Coaches Ataide and Medeiros due to his hard work on the mats.

In 2011, Adriano decided to test his skills in mixed martial arts after realizing that it would be hard for him to sustain an independent lifestyle in BJJ.

Adriano Moraes made his MMA debut against Ismael Bonfim on September 4, 2011, at the Precol Combat 5 and won the match with a guillotine choke submission in the first round.

Moraes achieved six back-to-back wins before appearing in One Championship in 2013.

On November 15, 2013, Adriano made his ONE Championship debut against Yusup Saadulaev at the One: Warrior Spirit and lost the match via split decision.

Moraes then won two matches before facing Geje Eustaquio at the ONE Flyweight Championship.

Moraes achieved his first world championship title by defeating Geje Eustauio via guillotine choke on September 12, 2014, at ONE: Age of Champions. Adriano went on a five-fight winning streak, capturing and defending the inaugural ONE Flyweight World Title.

Then in November 2015, Adriano lost the ONE title to Kairat Akhmetov via split decision at ONE: Dynasty of Champions.

Adriano quickly recaptured the ONE World title with a string of victories in 2016.

He defeated Tilek Batyrov at ONE: Heroes of the World on August 13, 2016, and won by rear-naked choke.

In August 2017, Moraes fought in the flyweight division and won the One: Undisputed Championship. Then in September 2017, Adriano gained another victory by beating Danny Kingad at ONE: Legends of the World.

Adriano’s next match was scheduled against Reece McLaren on March 9, 2018, at ONE: Vision of Victory. Unfortunately, Adriano was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a knee injury.

In June 2018, Adriano faced Geje Eustaquio to defend his second title again, but he lost the fight, as well as the title, to Geje through a split decision.

Moraes did not lose spirit despite losing the World Championship to his long-time enemy Geje Eustaquio in 2018.

He faced Geje Eustaquio again in January 2019 at ONE: Hero’s Ascent and defeated him for the second time in a dramatic trilogy fight, reclaiming his title as the undisputed ONE Flyweight World Champion.

On April 11, 2020, Adriano Moraes was to defend this title against Demetrious Johnson (the UFC Flyweight Champion). But the match was delayed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The fight finally took place on April 7, 2021, at Singapore Indoor Stadium where Adriano won via TKO in the second round.

The young MMA champion is ready for whatever challenge is coming next on his way. He expressed a desire for a rematch with Johnson in an interview with LowKickMMA. But it’s not the only fight he is interested in.

 He also opened up about other matchups in Bellator and UFC that he finds challenging. 

“Figueiredo’s going to be a good fight, you know, in the flyweight division. Aljamain Sterling, um, I would like to punch him in the face also”.

For Mikinho, it is just the start and there is no doubt that he has a long way to go as he loves challenges.

The most recent fight of Adriano took place on March 6, 2022, at ONE Championship: X against Yuya Wakamatsu.

The ONE Flyweight World Champion defeated Yuya via a third-round guillotine choke at the historic grand finale held in the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

It was a remarkable match as the victory improved Adriano’s MMA record and he retained the Flyweight gold title for the eighth time, cementing himself as the most decorated World Champion in the history of promotions.

The most historic match of Adriano’s life was against the UFC Flyweight Champion and ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Champion, Demetrious Johnson (The Mighty Mouse).

Adriano competed against Johnson on April 7, 2021, at ONE TNT 1 and won by a remarkable knockout.

Johnson is probably the greatest competitor ever to step inside the cage. He is famous for his ability to seamlessly transition between wrestling, striking, and grappling in a dynamic manner.

Adriano started the match by circling the cage, forcing Johnson to pursue him by utilizing his reach advantage. But Johnson was able to plant his right hand. He applied the clinch while Adriano began thrusting with knee strikes.

Soon after, Adriano moved back to the center and landed a sharp kick to his body, forcing Demetrious to respond with his own body kick, only to be attacked by the champion. 

Adriano kept Johnson in full guard after failing to secure a heel hook at the end of the first round.

During the second round, Adriano kept his distance from Johnson, avoiding his strikes and landing some of his own shots.

Adriano finally stunned the UFC Flyweight Champion in the middle of round two and caught him with a remarkable fly knee followed by ground and pound before the referee entered to stop the fight. 

Adriano faced his eternal rival, Geje Eustaquio for the third time at Hero’s Ascent on January 25, 2019. This was a heated match as Adriano was fighting to reclaim his One Flyweight World Title which he had lost to Geje back in 2018.

During the first three rounds, Adriano constantly tried to take the match to the ground, but Geje did not let him take a dominant position. Eustaquio was ahead after three rounds and landed more strikes by scoring with elbows and up-kicks on one occasion when Adriano did manage to take Geje down.

Eustaquio got unlucky in the fourth round which settled the fight when Adriano timed a punch, ducked under, and grabbed Eustaquio’s back.

Adriano caught Geje in a painful “Suloev Stretch” instead of a rear-naked choke, stretching Geje’s left leg over his head. Eustaquio was looking comfortable, but he was virtually doing the splits. He kept on giving thumbs up to the referee and was not ready to submit.

Then in the final round, Adriano again timed a punch and scored a takedown, ultimately winning the fight via unanimous decision.

• Interim ONE Flyweight Championship.
• MMA knockout of the year 2021 ( Adriano Vs Demetrious).
• ONE Flyweight Championship.
  • One successful title defense ( first reign).
  • One successful title defense ( second reign).
  • Two successful title defense ( third reign).
  • Four successful title defense ( overall).
• Shooto Brazil Flyweight Championship.

• NAGA Championship No-Gi Pro Division.
• State Championships ( in lower belts).
• South American Championship CBJJE.

The news made the headlines in late 2021 that Adriano’s managers, Samir Nadaf and Alex Davis, filed a lawsuit against him for breaching the contract.

They claimed that Adriano had terminated their contract unilaterally. Adriano was accused of having about 113,000 USD worth of unpaid provisions from sponsorships and fighter salaries.

The Flyweight Champion has achieved 9 of his 13 career’s most famous finishes by submission that included the neck.

• Two guillotine chokes.
• Four rear naked chokes.
• One barbora choke.
• Two arm triangle chokes.

This clearly reveals that he prefers strangulation for finishing his opponents. However, Adriano had not used a submission since he defeated Danny Kingad with RNC on 10 November, 2017 at One Championship.

The black Diamond has been persistent throughout his journey even after facing tragic loses. That’s the reason he was able to enjoy three different reigns while holding the title of undisputed One Flyweight Championship.

• His first reign as a champion lasted from 12 Sep, 2014 to 21 Nov, 2015 for 435 days.
• His second reign lasted from 5 Aug, 2017 to 23 June, 2018 for 323 days.
• His third reign started on 25 Jan, 2019 and still is in progress, covering over 900 days.

Adriano Mikinho has fought in almost eight different countries throughout his 22-fight career as a MMA athlete. The breakdown is as follows

• 2-2 China
• 2-1 Malaysia
• 9-0 Brazil
• 2-0 Philippines
• 1-0 Indonesia
• 1-0 Myanmar
• 1-0 Cambodia
• 1-0 Singapore

Adriano Moraes’ Top 5 Submissions

Adriano Moraes avenged the biggest loss of his career with this dominating performance!

Yusup Saadulaev vs. Adriano Moraes

Adriano Moraes vs. Eugene Toquero Was WILD

Danny Kingad vs. Adriano Moraes

Yusup Saadulaev vs. Adriano Moraes Full Fight From The Archives

Photo Credit: @onefc & @onefc