Fourth-ranked flyweight MMA contender Reece McLaren believes ONE Interim Strawweight MMA World Champion Jarred Brooks will be biting off more than he can chew when he moves into his domain next month.
The charismatic Australian meets “The Monkey God” at ONE Fight Night 26: Lee vs. Rasulov on Saturday, 7th December, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium, and he’s hoping to spoil the mouthy American’s welcoming party.
Brooks has dominated ONE Championship’s strawweight MMA division across his three-year tenure, in a run that has seen him become divisional king and interim titleholder. But flyweight is a different game, and McLaren warns that he’s ready to show the interim strawweight titleholder why.
“Every time [Brooks] talked about coming up to fight [Demetrious Johnson], he kept talking about coming up to flyweight,” he said.
“I would constantly be telling him he’s too small, too short. I’m standing by that. You should stay at strawweight, bro.”
A win for McLaren at ONE Fight Night 26 could put him in line to contest the vacant ONE Flyweight MMA World Title at some point in 2025.
Former king Demetrious Johnson relinquished the belt when he announced his retirement at ONE 168 this past September, and “Lightning” believes defeating Brooks will undeniably prove he’s among the stacked division’s very best.
“I feel like I should be fighting for a World Title,” he said.
“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.”
