Former ONE Championship titleholder Adriano Moraes made a statement upon his return to the win column.

At ONE 169, held at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, former ONE Championship flyweight champion Moraes (21-5) returned to action for his first fight of 2024 against Danny Kingad. At 4:14 of the second round, Moraes recorded his 15th career finish by submitting Kingad (15-5) with a guillotine choke.

Kingad didn’t make things easy at the start of the fight. He used a strong grappling approach to neutralize Moraes, making the first round difficult.

However, in the second frame the fight stayed on its feet for much longer, allowing Moraes to find his rhythm in the fight. Then, out of nowhere, he pounced on an arm-in-arm guillotine attempt, bringing Kingad to the mat. The pressure was tight and Kingad had no choice but to tap.

Adriano Moraes takes the plunge to submit Danny Kingad in round 2! #ONE169 #MMA pic.twitter.com/AOu594l26d

– Delinquent MMA (@DelinquentMMA) November 9, 2024

“The champion is back!” » Moraes shouted to begin his post-fight interview.

The result marked a return to the winner’s circle for Moraes, who competed for the first time after losing back-to-back fights to consensus MMA GOAT flyweight Demetrious Johnson. Moraes won the first fight of his saga by brutal knockout to record his first title defense, but then failed in the rematch and trilogy.

The title is currently vacant, as Johnson retired as champion. Moraes could find himself in a fight for the