ONE Championship set for United States debut in May with event headlined by Demetrious Johnson vs. Adriano Moraes III

ONE Championship is looking to make a splash in its United States debut.

The Asia-based organization is one of the top promotions in the sport today. Given its streaming deal with Amazon Prime, and several high-profile fighters such as Demetrious Johnson, the company has momentum. It seems they’re now ready to capitalize on it.

Earlier today, ONE Championship announced that they will head to the United States for the first time in May. Their maiden voyage into the country will take place on May 5th in Colorado. The event is slated for the 1StBankCenter in Broomfield, just outside of Denver.

In addition to announcing the event, the promotion announced the main event. The Colorado-based card will be headlined by the trilogy bout between Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes. ‘Mighty Mouse’ first faced the Brazilian in 2021, after winning ONE’s flyweight Grand Prix.

Image: ONE Championship

In the first outing, ‘Mikinho’ won by a devastating second-round knockout. The defeat was Johnson’s first since exiting the UFC in 2019. He later went back to the drawing board and claimed a submission win over Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a mixed-rules bout to earn the rematch.

In their second meeting in August of this year, Johnson returned the favor with a dramatic stoppage of his own. The former UFC champion captured the title by fourth-round knockout. With that, he avenged his previous defeat, but now there’s more work to do.

There’s no doubt that the trilogy bout will be an incredible one, but as of now, it’s the only fight announced for the event. As is standard with ONE Championship cards, the event will be broadcast on Amazon Prime.

What do you make of this news? Are you excited about the event? Who do you think will win the trilogy fight? Sound off in the comment section below PENN Nation!