Reece McLaren is heading to his next match with a new gym behind him, and he hopes to bounce back in a big way. The Aussie fireball is set to go up against Hu Yong in a flyweight MMA bout at ONE Fight Night 22: Sundell vs. Diachkova on Friday, May 3, inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

McLaren collected back-to-back wins in 2022 while working with the legendary John Wayne Parr at Boonchu Gym. However, he couldn’t maintain his hot streak in his latest outing at ONE Fight Night 10 last May.

Despite his vastly improved striking, the #4-ranked flyweight MMA contender fell to former divisional king Kairat Akhmetov’s superior wrestling, which signaled that he needed a change once more to level up. 

Speaking to ONE in a recent interview, McLaren revealed that he has moved to Queensland’s CMBT Training Centre in preparation for his return. 

“It was like a turning point. Personally, I really had to focus on myself, and that’s what I had committed to this year, committing to my own training,” he said. 

“And again, that was the irony. I’m just not a striker. So, it’s made us take the MMA journey back down the road a little bit and focus on actual MMA. Everything that is MMA is pulsating through my veins. I’m so excited to be back training MMA full time,” he added. And as ‘Lightining’ sets up to face the promising Chinese bantamweight, McLaren will need to be at his best.

‘Lightning’ will need a full array of skills against a seasoned veteran Hu

Hu Yong has lost only one fight since joining ONE in 2019 and is currently on a three-fight win streak in the promotion, having taken out some of the best prospects in his homeland. As a result, he won a contract to compete in the main roster of the world’s largest martial arts organization. 

‘Wolf Warrior’ put his name on the map when he put former flyweight king Geje Eustaquio to sleep at ONE 164 in December 2022, which kicked off the three-fight win streak he’s currently enjoying and pushed him to grab the #5 spot in the rankings. Two of those victories have come by TKO, so McLaren’s durability and striking prowess could be tested. 

That said, ‘Lightning’ has seven submissions on his ONE slate, and he’ll be supremely motivated to score another win at ONE Fight Night 22 to stay in the World Title conversation. What are your predictions for Yong vs. McLaren?