“The sky’s limit after this one” – Reece McLaren says a win vs streaking Hu Yong puts him back in title contention

Aussie MMA star Reece McLaren will return to action tonight at ONE Fight Night 22 to face Chinese streaking fighter Hu Yong in a three-round flyweight MMA contest.

'Lightning' Reece McLaren is one of the veterans of ONE Championship, having been fighting for the promotion since 2015. He fought for ONE Championship gold once, losing a five-round unanimous decision to former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion Bibiano Fernandes in 2016.

Fighting 'Wolf Warrior' Hu Yong, who is on a three-fight winning streak, poses an opportunity for Reece McLaren to knock on the door of a world title shot again.

He told ONE Championship:

“I think he’s on a three-fight win streak. He just beat the guy that beat Yuya [Wakamatsu], so this is a big turning point for myself and him, I believe. Yeah, the sky’s limit after this one if I can get the nod.”

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Reece McLaren sees a grappling advantage over Hu Yong and the rest of the ONE flyweight division

With nine wins via submission under his belt, it's safe to say that McLaren has a penchant for punishing his opponents on the ground. This will come into play when he faces Hu Yong, as the Aussie grappling specialist sees a huge advantage once the fight hits the mat.

'Lightning' said:

“Honestly, I think I’ve got the wood over pretty much most of the ranked ONE Championship flyweights in the grappling aspect. Jiu-jitsu, submissions, yeah, give me an inch, and I’ll take that mile.”

Hu, on the other hand, has seven KO/TKO wins in his 12-4 pro record. Two of his last three wins came by way of the finish and would certainly look for it come fight night.

ONE Fight Night 22 will air live on US Primetime on May 3 free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America.