Reece McLaren picks Yuya Wakamatsu to overcome Gilbert Nakatani in flyweight MMA tussle at ONE Fight Night 26

Australian MMA star Reece McLaren expects second-ranked ONE flyweight MMA competitor Yuya Wakamatsu to defeat the debuting Gilbert Nakatani in their 135-pound MMA bout at ONE Fight Night 26 on Dec. 6. The event will take place inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Speaking exclusively with Sportskeeda MMA, 'Lightning' explained why he is backing Wakamatsu:

"I think Yuya will win that. I think out of all of us, he's one of the more well-improved. I think he had lots of room to improve, and he's made those improvements. Man, Yuya has impressed me."

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McLaren's observations of 'Little Piranha' are well-founded. The Japanese star impressed fans and fighters alike with his back-to-back victories over Xie Wei and Filipino standout Danny Kingad in July 2023 and this past January, respectively.

The win over Xie was important for the Tribe Tokyo MMA fighter as it marked his first finish since knocking out Kim Kyu Sung at ONE: Inside the Matrix II in November 2020.

McLaren will also be in action at ONE Fight Night 26 as he takes on ONE interim strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks in his flyweight MMA debut.

ONE Fight Night 26 will air live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

Reece McLaren calls for respect towards ONE's flyweight MMA division

Reece McLaren hopes that more combat sports fans will recognize just how stacked the ONE flyweight MMA division truly is.

Following his statement-making win over Hu Yong at ONE Fight Night 22 in May, McLaren said in the backstage post-fight interview:

"It's time to start getting appreciated for what we do here in ONE. The best flyweights in the world are in ONE Championship. I have been saying that for years."

Watch the entire interview below: