This will be Moraes’ first appearance since his hard-fought five-round loss to MMA GOAT. Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in their world title trilogy showdown at A Night of Fight 10.

He’s hungry to bounce back and take a chance on the recently vacated throne – but the same can be said of his old rival Kingad.

The Brazilian faced “The King” for the first time in 2017 at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLDwhere he scored a dominant first round victory to retain the ONE Flyweight MMA World Title.

A talented BJJ black belt, Moraes used his elite ground game that night – a strategy he believes will work in this rematch with Kingad. He said onefc.com:

“In the first fight, I managed to defeat him and work my jiu-jitsu well, so he knows my jiu-jitsu is better than his.

“I’m sure he’s worked a lot on his ground game. But I believe the ground game is his weak point, and the strongest part of my game is definitely jiu-jitsu.

Of course, a lot has changed in the seven years since these men last confronted each other.

Kingad switched camps from the famous Team Lakay to the new Lions Nation MMA and worked hard to improve his grappling.

Still, Moraes views the Filipino star as basically the same fighter – an explosive athlete with a dynamic striking game and decent submission defense.

“Mikinho” detailed Kingad’s strengths and weaknesses:

“His strong point is undoubtedly his striking. It combines wushu and kickboxing very well. He has very fast hands, strikes to the body and head, and also delivers quick kicks to the legs, body and head.

“He is a very dynamic hitting athlete. He has some very characteristic wrestling scrambles from Team Lakay, his former team, so he defends well in jiu-jitsu. But that’s what I’m going to work on to counterattack.

“And the part that leaves the most to be desired is Muay Thai, the clinch part, the use of angles and knees. And of course, Jiu-Jitsu. I believe jiu-jitsu is his weakness.