Adriano Moraes Looking Forward to Rematch at ONE Championship 58

Adriano Moraes spoke with MMAjunkie ahead of his fight with Kairat Akhmetov in ONE Championship 58’s co-main event. The highlights are below:

On getting a rematch with Akhmetov: “I’m very happy with this opportunity to be able to face Kairat again. It’s been two years since we last fought. Thankfully, I fought twice more since then. I’m coming off two victories. I stayed active. I’m really happy ONE gave me this shot at the belt again. I believe Kairat wasn’t fighting due to injury. Thankfully he’s well now, so we can fight again and see who really is No. 1.”

On being familiar with his opponent: “I have studied him very well. When we first fought, he took me down a few times, so I’ve been working on takedown defense. I’m working on my wrestling with Steve Mocco at American Top Team. I’m also giving emphasis to my jiu-jitsu. If we scramble, my jiu-jitsu is of a higher caliber, no doubt. My training partners are Kyoji Horiguchi, Pedro Munhoz and Gleidson de Jesus…Winning is most important, but my objective is to have a great fight and win by knockout or submission. I’m looking for a great victory. I’ll give everything I have.”

On fighting more frequently: “It’s great to be able to be active. If too much time goes by, we end up developing rust. There’s a lack of adrenaline. Sometimes you feel that during a fight. It’s a point in my favor. So I’ll exploit it as much as possible. … I believe he’ll be well trained, but remaining active is my advantage. I think my fight memory will be sharper.”