Reece McLaren held serve at ONE Fight Night 22 with a unanimous decision win over Hu Yong in their flyweight showdown.
The No. 4 - ranked flyweight contender in ONE Championship has long coveted the gold but has missed out on having it adorned on his shoulder. After his latest victory, the Australian athlete feels he is on the doorstep of his next opportunity.
“I feel that I am, at any stage, on any win, one step away from that World Title shot, regardless of being ranked or not ranked. I’ve been in ONE now for nearly nine years, [with] 10 wins. It’s been a long journey, man. I feel like I’ve paid my dues. The best flyweights in the world are in ONE Championship. I have been saying that for years,” McLaren told ONE.
The man sitting on the throne is widely considered the greatest to ever compete in the sport, Demetrious Johnson.
While McLaren wants a shot at the belt, he is also clear that the division needs to move forward if Johnson is not ready to put it on the line in the near future. And if so, McLaren is ready for that as well.
“No, he’s definitely not afraid. The man’s the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. There’s no way he’d be afraid,” McLaren stated.
“In the same breath, don’t hold out. Either give us a shot at an interim [title] or just relinquish, man.”
However, if none of that happens, McLaren still has other things on his mind. Predominantly,
“Lightning” wants another match against Danny Kingad.
The 2019 loss to his flyweight rival still eats at him, largely because he believes he should have gotten his hand raised when they initially met.
“I think everyone knows I won that fight. I think he’s been hiding up in the mountains ever since I’ve been calling for that fight,” the Aussie offered.
“Like I said, I’m not here to wait in any line. I’m not here to play any game. I want that belt, man. I want my flyweight belt.”
Aside for contendership, McLaren was also happy to represent Australia on the global stage. After some recent losses by other Aussie athletes, the flyweight star notched a win for the country to show their martial arts prowess to the global viewing audience.
“[Danial Williams] had said [to] get Australia back in the win column. I think Australia in ONE was on a bit of a losing streak. I think we’d lost our last four fights. So, for me, that was more important than trying to snap his win [streak], whether you could believe that or not. I don’t want to feel like I carried that with me, as I was just very much focused on this fight,” McLaren said.