Adriano Moraes reveals conversation he had with “amazing guy” Jorge Masvidal about knees in MMA

ONE Championship flyweight champion Adriano Moraes revealed the conversation he had with UFC star Jorge Masvidal about throwing knees in MMA.

Moraes finished former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson with an uppercut and knees at ONE on TNT 1 this past Wednesday. It was a phenomenal performance by Moraes, who was a massive betting underdog heading into this bout. Following the upset win, Moraes noted that he had a conversation with Masvidal about how “knees change lives.” Masvidal knows that first-hand because after he knocked out Ben Askren with a flying knee at UFC 239, he became a true superstar and his life has never been the same since then.

Speaking to Nick Atkin of the South China Morning Post, Moraes gave more intel into the recent conversation he had with Masvidal about knees. The Brazilian said that Masvidal, his teammate at American Top Team, saw him in the gym recently as he prepared to fight Johnson, and he encouraged him to throw his knees because he has “good knee attacks.”

“Some weeks ago, a month ago, when he saw me in fight camp preparing to fight, he said, ‘Adriano, I see how you train and let me tell you something, the knee can change your life. Like the knee I did on Ben Askren, you can do on Demetrious Johnson because you have good knee attacks,'” Moraes said.

Moraes listened to his veteran teammate and it worked as he became the first man to finish Johnson in an MMA fight. Speaking of Masvidal, Moraes predicted that he will defeat Kamaru Usman at UFC 261. Just like Masvidal believed in him to beat Johnson, Moraes believes in his friend to get the job done, too.

“Man, he’s always inside the gym working hard, he’s such an amazing guy. He’s a good teammate. He likes to help his friends. He’s a veteran fighter. He knows what you need to do to get this win and bring that belt home. So I think this fight is going to be tough, but he’s going to do good. I think he’s going to win via TKO in the second or third round,” Moraes predicted.

What do you think is next for Adriano Moraes after knocking out Demetrious Johnson?