Scouting Report: Adriano Moraes

Adriano Moraes

Born: April 21, 1989 (Age: 34) in Brasilia, Brazil
Division: ONE Flyweight (135 pounds)
Height: 5’8”
Reach: 69.3”
Record: 20-4 (11-4 ONE)
Association: American Top Team/Constrictor Team
Stage of Career: Prime to Post-Prime

Summary: Moraes is a terrific Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner who can quickly lock on tight submissions in a variety of situations, even after being taken down. He has excellent top control, which gives him plenty of other opportunities to attack with his submission game. Moraes features solid wrestling, but he is not overwhelming in terms of his takedowns, so it is possible to avoid the dangers on the ground against him. On the feet, Moraes wields a nice arsenal of kicks but limited boxing. He is perfectly aware of his weaknesses and rarely throws his hands as a result. Exceptional movement and defense are the best attributes of his standup. He circles well on the outside, mixes up directions and leans on sturdy defense, including excellent head movement. Moraes can turn the corner when he retreats and has the ability to block punches. As a result, it is difficult to catch Moraes striking, even for opponents who keep themselves off the ground.

STRIKING

• Stance: Orthodox.
• Hand Speed: Average.
• Jab: Straight and fairly hard, but it could be far more effective if it was not so frequently telegraphed.
• Cross: Mediocre. It has some accuracy, but Moraes often throws his head and body too far forward with the punch; and it is not straight.
• Left Hook: Almost never throws it.
• Overhand Right: Rarely throws one.
• Uppercuts: Difficult to judge. He landed one of them against Johnson in their first fight. It was accurate and powerful, and it was thrown with a tight, beautiful arc, knocking down Johnson and setting up the finish. However, it remains one of the rare times when Moraes has ever thrown the punch. It also landed when Johnson was on his hips and trying to take him down, rather than a standard situation in a standup exchange.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Throws one punch at a time.
• Favorite Combination(s): He rarely strings even two punches together.
• Leg Kicks: Sudden and generally well-timed.
• Body Kicks: Features a fast front kick, though he sacrifices a little power in favor of speed. Wields a nice roundhouse kick, too.
• Head Kicks: Thrown with power, quickness and solid flexibility. The lack of a set-up diminishes their effectiveness.
• Knees: Fires an athletic jumping knee, which looks explosive. However, he throws it out randomly, with poor accuracy.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: No.

Moraes confines himself mostly to kicks on offense. He has a decent jab and should probably throw it more, but his right cross, in the rare times it comes out, lacks straightness. Other punches are seen even less frequently. One gets the sense that the Brazilian is quite uncomfortable boxing with his opponent. He started his knockout of Johnson with a fantastic uppercut, but it was one of the few times he has ever thrown that punch, and it occurred when “Mighty Mouse” was on his hip going for a takedown, not striking with him at range. His kicks are excellent overall, as they are fluid, fast, hard and generally difficult to time. Moraes can also call upon an explosive jumping knee, but it is wild and often inaccurate. His best attributes are his ability to circle, his knack for mixing up directions and his sound defense. Even if his offense is not overwhelming, it has proven difficult to land clean blows against Moraes, with the notable exception being leg kicks, which he does little to check or avoid.

CLINCH

• Physical Strength: A big bantamweight who can hold his own against almost anyone, but he also does not have a significant advantage against a number of opponents.
• Technique: He is slick with a lot of positions and his judo, but he can be thrown off-balance.
• Knees: While they are fast and can be thrown repeatedly, they lack some power.
• Elbows: Does not use them.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Satisfactory, though he can be vulnerable to certain opponents when he worries too much about the grappling.

Moraes can hold his own against almost anyone in the clinch, but it is not a particular area of strength. He has solid knees and can potentially secure takedowns, though they are not overwhelming by any stretch of the imagination.

GRAPPLING

• Wrestling from a Shot: Puts his head in the right place and has nice forward drive and tracking. However, he is sometimes bent over at 90 degrees at the waist and is not especially strong or fast. He took down Yuya Wakamatsu on one well-timed attempt, but he was also stuffed on his next two tries.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Features excellent judo skills, though many opponents can stay upright.
• Takedown Defense: Difficult to tell since he sometimes allows himself to be taken down due to the confidence he has in his Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
• Ability to Return to Feet: Whether hip escaping or wall walking, he can get back up almost instantly, oftentimes despite the added danger of One Championship allowing knees to grounded opponents.
• Submissions: Tremendously fluid at taking the back and locking in the rear-naked choke. Moraes also has a tight, highly technical guillotine that he can lock on instantly, even while being taken down. He can also attack a number of other maneuvers with perfect technique.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Impresses with how he uses submission attempts to trap and sweep opponents. He even did so to Johnson when he was on top.
• Top Control: Manages the hips well initially and then lets his heavy pressure keep an adversary grounded. However, he can get too eager when passing and advancing position, allowing opponents opportunities to return to their feet.
• Ground-and-Pound: Throws occasional punches, some of them significant. Others are thrown only with the arms and no body behind them. Moraes does not use his elbows enough, though he can deliver them when given a wide-open opportunity.

Moraes is a nightmare when he gets on top. He has excellent control and can prevent even the best opponents from returning to their feet. The Brazilian features fantastic, tight submissions with absolutely gorgeous technique. However, getting opponents down can be a difficult proposition at times. Moraes is a good wrestler but not a great one. He has a solid shot and some nice judo, but none of it can be considered overwhelming, especially against skilled counterparts. While he can be taken down himself, he excels at getting up or simply trapping and sweeping opponents to capture coveted top position. In some cases, Moraes can simply catch an opponent attempting to take him down with a crushing guillotine before his back ever hits the canvas. As a result, most opponents try to avoid any grappling exchanges with him.

INTANGIBLES

• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Fairly powerful and quite dynamic.
• Cardio: Slows down minimally in the championship rounds. He can grapple, move well and throw significant strikes for an entire fight.
• Chin: He managed to weather plenty of hard connections over the years before Johnson finally knocked him out in their rematch. That required a volley of flush blows, one right after the other.
• Recuperative Powers: Excellent.
• Intelligence: It is impressive how often Moraes uses his Brazilian jiu-jitsu to win fights without a consistent route to takedowns. However, he showed no adjustments in the “Mighty Mouse” rematch, and it would be encouraging to see more improvement over his fights, especially with his hands.