Adriano Moraes injures knee, withdraws from ONE Championship title defense

Adriano Moraes won’t be defending his ONE Championship title in March.

The flyweight talent was slated to face Reece McLaren in the main event of ONE: Visions of Victory, scheduled for March 9 in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, but was forced out of the bout due to a knee injury. MMA Fighting confirmed the news following a report by Combate.

Moraes recaptured the flyweight title last August, defeating Kairat Akhmetov via unanimous decision, and successfully defended it against Danny Kingad three months later.

The promotion decided to create an interim belt earlier this year, when Moraes turned down an offer to fight in January, and Geje Eustaquio claimed it with a decision victory over Akhmetov.

ONE Championship has yet to announce the news and whether or not McLaren will be given a new opponent for the March 9 show.