Reece McLaren.
R
eece "Lightning" McLaren aims to give the judges a break as he plans to finish his fight against Xie “The Hunter” Wei on his own terms when he faces the Chinese phenom at ONE 158 on Friday, June 3.
The Australian, however, reiterated that he would not take his opponent lightly at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The 30-year-old veteran is ready to take on the hard striking of his Chinese opponent and said he couldn't wait to throw down in the middle of the Circle.
"His hands [are dangerous], he looks neat, he looks pretty fearless to be honest. He looks like he stands in the pocket and trains," he explained. "Xie Wei is on a three-fight streak? He's definitely surging [and] I'm excited about the match up."
The 25-year-old Chinese star has won eight of his last nine fights in the ONE Championship, with every one of those victories coming by knockout. This makes The Hunter a threat to the entire flyweight division and a formidable opponent to anyone in the division.
But McLaren's confidence in his abilities going into the match is unwavering and he shared that expected the fight would be ended once he puts his rival on the ground.
"I think I'll just do whatever I want, to be honest. Sit down judges, you ain't going to be needed," McLaren claimed. "I see not just weakness in his game, but in just about everyone's game. Jiu jitsu, baby"
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With eight submission finishes in 14 victories in ONE, Lightning has achieved great success with his elite-level ground game. Despite this, the Australian believed he was still lacking in the striking department and was taking steps to polish that aspect by learning from an iconic compatriot.
Former ONE Championship superstar John Wayne Parr has been enlisted to help McLaren sharpen his striking at Boonchu Muay Thai Gym in Australia.
"I've known Wayne for many years, I've been a big fan, [and] things kind of ran full circle and I'm training there full time," McLaren explained. "I've been welcomed into the Boonchu family and I'm very proud to call myself a fighter from Boonchu."
Watch ONE 158 live on NETVERSE, Vidio, Kaskus TV or MAXstream beginning with the lead card at 4:30 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB) on Friday, June 3.
The main card broadcasts live on NETVERSE, Vidio, Kaskus TV, and MAXstream at 7:30 p.m. WIB. NET TV will air a same-day delay at 10:00 p.m. WIB.
This article was published in collaboration with ONE Championship.
