5 Defining Moments: Reece McLaren

If it was not for his early years of privation, ONE Championship flyweight sensation Reece McLaren might never have discovered martial arts. “Lightning” grew up in a single-mother household on Christmas Island—an Australian territory off the coast of Indonesia. The family collectively suffered through fate’s slings and arrows, which dictated that McLaren would need to start working at a very young age. A chance encounter with a co-worker in one of those jobs swung open the doors to martial arts training and the die was cast to pursue the sport diligently.

The 32-year-old returns to action when he squares off with Yong Hu in a ONE on Prime Video 22 flyweight feature this Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Ahead of McLaren’s clash with Hu in Southeast Asia, a look at five defining moments from his combat sports journey:

1. Stripes and gold represent a sturdy foundation.

Before he made his mark on the grand stage of ONE Championship, McLaren earned a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt that became the bedrock of his MMA skills. Anchored on this firm terrain, he has hatched nine submission victories in his career, which constitute 56% of his wins. The Australian was also an Eternal MMA and Xtreme Fighting Championships bantamweight titleholder before he crossed over to the premier Asian martial arts promotion.

2. His debut sent shockwaves through the division

McLaren was paired up against Filipino sensation Mark Striegl for his first ONE Championship assignment. Striegl, at that time, was coming off two solid wins, including a notable victory against future UFC top-ranked contender Kai Kara-France. “Mugen” proved to be the better fighter for the most part, doubling down on his wrestling efforts while scoring strongly on the scorecards. It seemed like he had almost bagged the win if the fight was left to the judges’ decision. However, “Lightning” would not go down without a fight. During a takedown attempt by Striegl in the third frame, McLaren jumped on a guillotine choke that was fended off. He maintained the upper hand in the prevailing scrambles, pounded his opponent vigilantly and, when the opportunity presented itself, locked in a rear-naked choke submission, forcing the tap at 3:33 of the third round.

3. He missed the mark by a whisker.

McLaren took on then-reigning bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes in the ONE Championship “Age of Domination” co-main event. The five-round battle proved to be every bit of the competitive affair that fans had come to expect. The opening chunk of the contest was fought in a cyclical manner, but McLaren delivered a staggering combination midway through the fight that rocked Fernandes and broke the Brazilian’s nose. From there, Fernandes put on a strong performance for the most part, retaining his title via split decision despite potent resistance from McLaren.

4. He broke the streak of a formidable challenger.

Gurdarshan Mangat was on a solid five-fight tear before he locked horns with McLaren at ONE “Mark of Greatness” in December 2019. It took “Lightning” just one round to vanquish the formidable challenger, securing a rear-naked choke submission at the 4:35 mark.

Statistics reveal the backbone of his success.

Throughout his ONE Championship run, McLaren has recorded seven finishes in nine victories. He maintains a 78% finish rate with an average bout duration of 6:52. The rich experience he has garnered from competing in the organization is punctuated by a total fight time of 1:43:14.