Michael Schiavello: Demetrious Johnson 'is going to have his work cut out for him' at ONE on TNT 1

Count ONE Championship play-by-play man Michael Schiavello among those who believes Demetrious Johnson has quite the fight on his hands this week.

With “Mighty Mouse” bidding for the ONE Championship flyweight title against reigning titleholder Adriano Moraes (18-3) in the main event of ONE on TNT I, which airs live on Wednesday in the U.S., Schiavello believe the result is anything but a foregone conclusion for Johnson (30-3-1).

“You know, a lot of people are sleeping on Adriano Moraes, and he’s been a superb champion at ONE Championship, and the thing of Adriano, he’s going to give Demetrious a very tough time,” Schiavello told MMA Junkie Radio. “I mean, Adriano is so skilled as a BJJ black belt, but also his standup is superb. His ring generalmanship is superb. He’s got a very high intellect inside the circle, and you know, it’s no secret that Demetrious Johnson, since coming to ONE Championship, has had a tough time. I mean, you know, every fight he’s had so far, he has been tested.”

Johnson, who’s currently ranked No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie flyweight rankings, came to ONE in 2019 following a lengthy stint as UFC champ. While he racked up three wins in 2019 to claim ONE’s flyweight grand prix title, he didn’t exactly steamroll Danny Kingad, Tatsumitsu Wada and Yuya Wakamatsu.

Schiavello believes there’s a reason for that.

“You know, he got cut in I think it was his first fight,” Schiavello said. “He’s been tagged in the striking because Demetrious at ONE is seeing some striking that he hasn’t seen before. When he was in the UFC, he wasn’t seeing guys who were unorthodox strikers using, like, the sanda and the wushu and coming at him at angles that these Japanese and Filipino guys he’s been fighting at ONE are coming at him from.

“Adriano is a guy who actually trains in the U.S., though he is Brazilian. He’s also going to bring a lot of that unorthodox stuff because Adriano’s been in ONE for such a long time that he has seen some of that striking, the muay Thai, the karate, the kung fu, the sanda, the wushu. He’s incorporated it into his own style, and the thing about Adriano is, as I said such a cerebral fighter, as well. You know, he would have been in the laboratory the last few months, studying every piece of tape on Demetrious Johnson to find a potential weakness in Demetrious and, you know, if anyone thinks that Demetrious is going to run through Adriano, you know, it’s the wrong thought to have.”

Of course, Johnson has been facing the absolute best fighters in the world for more than a decade, and he’s proven victorious far more often that not. Schiavello said a Johnson win would really solidify his status as one of the sport’s all-time greats.

He just wants to make it clear that anyone counting Moraes out is making a serious mistake.

“I’m not saying that Demetrious won’t win,” Schiavello said. “There’s a very high chance that he might, but Adriano’s a champion for a reason, and he’s such a good champion, and he figures people out, and there’s a lot of pressure on Demetrious because … so many people call him the ‘greatest of all-time,’ and this really is the fight to determine that. I mean is he really the greatest of all-time? Does he become a two-organization champion, the two biggest? You know, former UFC champion, does he become the ONE champion? That would solidify him as arguably the greatest of all-time, that this is
the match to cement or confirm that legacy, and Adriano is going to do him no favors whatsoever.”

Oddmakers have installed Johnson as a significant favorite, understandable considering his well-earned reputation. However, Schiavello said Moraes’ well-round skills and his

“Out of the two of them, the one that should be more worried is actually
Demetrious because, you know, Adriano’s going to bring stuff to the table – not to give away too much – but things that Demetrious maybe hasn’t seen a lot of before, and some unorthodox stuff, and some awesome grappling, and some very good striking, and the thing with Adriano that may give Demetrious some problems is his length,” Schiavello said. “The legs, the arms on Adriano are very long, and that will equip Adriano very well on the ground, who always does with his guard game and his submissions that he constantly throws up, but also on the standup, the way he uses his leg kicks, the way he uses his jabs and his crosses, that he can keep a shorter and a less reachy Demetrious Johnson at bay and set him up for some power salvos.

“Demetrious is going to have his work cut out for him.”

To see the full interview with Schiavello, check out the video below.