‘Stay At Strawweight, Bro’ – Reece McLaren Plans To Give Jarred Brooks A Rude Welcome To Flyweight At ONE Fight Night 26
Reece “Lightning” McLaren aims to take out a current ONE World Champion and punch his own ticket to a World Title shot at ONE Fight Night 26: Lee vs. Rasulov on Prime Video.
On December 6 in U.S. primetime, the Australian veteran will battle current ONE Interim Strawweight MMA World Champion and former undisputed strawweight king Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks in a high-stakes flyweight MMA clash at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Following the retirement of former titleholder Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson earlier this year, the flyweight MMA throne now sits vacant.
As the division’s #4-ranked contender, McLaren knows he could be just one win away from a crack at the gold. For his part, Brooks had been calling for a shot at Johnson for some time, and he will now make his long-awaited move up to flyweight in pursuit of two-division glory.
According to “Lightning,” the outspoken American doesn’t have the size or physicality to compete in the heavier weight class. He told onefc.com:
“Every time [Brooks] talked about coming up to fight DJ, he kept talking about coming up to flyweight. I would constantly be telling him he’s too small, too short. I’m standing by that. You should stay at strawweight, bro.”
While McLaren respects his foe’s accomplishments and status as a World Champion, he thinks Brooks’ approach to combat is too simple and too straightforward.
“The Monkey God” is undoubtedly a talented takedown artist, but McLaren said that won’t be enough on fight night:
“I kind of feel he is a little bit one-dimensional with his wrestling offense. He moves lots, and then he always looks to try and wrestle.”
The 33-year-old accepted this fight against Brooks on one month’s notice.
He admits that a full eight-week camp for such a dangerous opponent would have been nice but insists that a short camp won’t stop him from bringing the heat at ONE Fight Night 26.
McLaren added:
“I’m always trying to make everyone else look like an amateur and be the only pro of the night sort of thing. We both bring it. I’m gonna try and bring it in as fit as I can within a four-week camp.
“He’s probably not gonna be fighting the best Reece, but he’s definitely as hell going to be fighting the most violent. I can guarantee violence.”
McLaren: ‘Winning That World Title Would Mean Absolutely Everything’
A veteran of 16 battles in the world’s largest martial arts organization, Reece McLaren has spent many years as a mainstay of the flyweight MMA division’s upper echelon.
A victory over Jarred Brooks, he believes, should finally seal the deal for a shot at the ONE Flyweight MMA World Title:
“He is a current World Champion and a World Champion for a reason. I cannot deny his skill. He is an awesome fighter, I think.
“I feel like I should be fighting for a World Title. If that’s not the case, then this stamps my name on that top-tier list for the next title contender by taking out a current World Champion.”
Of course, every fighter wants a shot at the golden belt. McLaren, though, carries some added motivation.
Back in 2018, “Lightning” was scheduled to challenge then-reigning flyweight MMA king Adriano Moraes, but when the Brazilian suffered a knee injury, the fight was scrapped, and McLaren never had his chance.
Now six years later, he hasn’t forgotten about the World Title shot that slipped through his fingers – and he’ll do everything in his power to ensure that doesn’t happen again:
“With DJ retiring, I think for sure I’ll put my name way up at the top for a shot for the vacant belt coming off a good win. Look, I think I was scheduled to fight for that title so long ago that that title still wears on me. So I kind of feel like that still needs to happen.
“Securing [a World Title shot] would be a good affirmation, but winning that World Title would mean absolutely everything.”
