Reece McLaren says he was on the hunt for a quick finish over Hu Yong: "We don't get paid overtime"
This past weekend at ONE Fight Night 22, fourth-ranked flyweight MMA contender Reece McLaren collected his 10th victory in ONE Championship by beating the number five-ranked divisional contender Hu Yong in their crucial match inside the hallowed ring of the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. He ground out a split decision nod from the judges to maintain his place in the rankings.
After his hard-fought win, the 32-year-old Australian athlete revealed that he was looking for an early finish and wanted quick work in the office. 'Lightning' said:
"I won the scramble. I won most of the aggression and repatrolling, we cracked each other, man. We went after it. We don't get paid overtime. So I was hoping to get that done in one."
The CMBT Training Centre representative withstood the initial attack from the 'Wolf Warrior' by displaying his extensive experience and all-around skills to eventually outpoint his Chinese opponent.
This was McLaren's bounce-back triumph after previously receiving a unanimous decision loss at the hands of the former ONE flyweight MMA world champion Kairat Akhmetov in May 2023 at ONE Fight Night 10.
Reece McLaren wants to avenge his losses to Danny Kingad and Yuya Wakamtsu
Although a world title shot is the most ideal scenario for Reece McLaren, he still wants to prove that he is now a better fighter than his former tormentors Danny Kingad and Yuya Wakamatsu, who formerly defeated him in 2019 and 2021 via split decision and unanimous decision, respectively.
According to the Aussie brawler, he has improved a lot since his encounter with them, and it will surely be a different result once he gets his hands on both of them in potential rematches in the foreseeable future.
North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch all the action from ONE Fight Night 22 via the free event replay.