"Violence is coming" - Reece McLaren vows to be at his ferocious best vs Jarred Brooks at ONE Fight Night 26
Reece McLaren wants to maintain his winning ways when he welcomes Jarred Brooks to the flyweight MMA bracket at ONE Fight Night 26. To do so, the Australian standout knows he needs to bring one trait above all — violence.
The No. 4-ranked contender and the ONE interim strawweight MMA world champion go toe-to-toe inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Dec. 6, in a clash viewed as a flyweight world title eliminator matchup.
Divisional king and MMA GOAT Demetrious Johnson vacated the throne after hanging up his gloves for good at ONE 168: Denver. Plus, with former titleholder Adriano Moraes returning to winning ways against Danny Kingad earlier this month, all signs certainly point toward that direction.
For his part, 'Lightning' knows what he has to do to bridge the gap and set himself on the road to 26 pounds of gold. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda MMA, McLaren said:
"It's gonna go back to that one word, my man — violence. Violence is coming. Doesn't matter if it's one, two, or three rounds."
Indeed, that has been something the 33-year-old from Christmas Island has been known for since debuting in the organization a decade ago.
The Australian athlete has finished seven of 10 wins inside the distance, relying on his BJJ expertise and knockout dexterity to put away opponents.
Still, Brooks could be a different test altogether. However, McLaren seems game to beat the American in his flyweight bow and make a case for himself as a clear contender for the throne.
Reece McLaren reveals initial shock to receiving Jarred Brooks offer
While Reece McLaren already has his mind set on a winning strategy against Brooks, the CMBT Training Center athlete does admit that the chance to compete with the latter did come as a surprise. In the same interview, the 33-year-old continued:
"I was just as surprised as everyone else when they said they have a match-up for me, and it's Jarred Brooks. I thought they would have been protecting him and keeping him at strawweight."
Their clash and the entire ONE Fight Night 26 card will air live and free to all active Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.