The journey to success in combat sports is often an unforgiving chase. A fighter can get every step right but can still find themselves back where they started.
After coming up short in his latest ONE Championship outing, flyweight MMA star Reece McLaren will look to regain some footing when he meets Chinese star Hu Yong at ONE Fight Night 22: Sundell vs. Diachkova on Saturday, 4th May, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
The #4-ranked contender will look to reaffirm his position in the stacked division after coming up short to Kairat Akhmetov in their battle at ONE Fight Night 10 last May.
McLaren rode back-to-back stoppages into that bout, so he’ll be looking to prove to the world that that loss was a simple blip in his quest to rise further into World Title contention.
However, Hu will have plenty to say when he returns to ONE Championship next month.
The #5-ranked contender could usurp his Aussie foe’s position with a victory, and his current run of form will give him all the confidence in the world to make it happen.
A prominent figure in ONE Championship since 2019, Hu is riding a three-fight winning streak, with two of those coming via stoppage.
Hu has added two-time ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion Geje Eustaquio, Woo Sung Hoon, and decorated submission artist Eko Roni Saputra to his list of scalps since December 2022, and a fourth victory on the trot could very well punch his ticket to a meeting with ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.
The stakes are high in this flyweight MMA showdown. There’s no room for error for either combatant, as their World Title hopes will be hanging in the balance when they collide at ONE Fight Night 22.
