“A dark horse in the flyweight division” - Demetrious Johnson says he’s "a big fan" of ONE veteran Reece McLaren

Demetrious Johnson talked about Reece McLaren being a "dark horse" in the ONE Championship flyweight MMA division.

In Sept. 2024, Johnson announced his retirement from mixed martial arts, vacating his ONE flyweight world title in the process. Despite walking away from competition, 'Mighty Mouse' continues to be associated with the sport by producing content for his highly successful YouTube channel.

Johnson recently posted an interview with ONE Vice President Rich Franklin. During their conversation, the former flyweight MMA world champion had this to say about being a fan of number four-ranked Reece McLaren:

"I’ve always felt like Reece McLaren has always been a dark horse in the flyweight division. He’s very tough. He was in the World Grand Prix, he fought Kairat Akhmetov, lost that fight, Akhmetov got injured or something, and then it went with Reece McLaren taking on Danny Kingad."

Johnson followed up by saying:

"Danny Kingad ended up outwrestling Reece McLaren, then I ended up taking on Danny Kingad in the World Grand Prix, and then I went on to fight Adriano, and got my face blasted. But I feel like Reece McLaren’s always been there. He’s very well-rounded, very tough. And he’s another guy that I’ve always been a big fan of."

Watch Demetrious Johnson's entire interview with Rich Franklin below:

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Reece McLaren missed out on vacant flyweight MMA title shot

Demetrious Johnson's retirement created a massive opportunity for ONE flyweight MMA contenders. The first fighter to secure a spot in the vacant title fight was former champion Adriano Moraes, who bounced back from his consecutive losses against Johnson with a second-round submission against Danny Kingad.

Meanwhile, Moraes' opponent was either going to be number two-ranked Yuya Wakamatsu, who defeated Gilbert Nakatani, or Reece McLaren, who defeated interim strawweight champion Jarred Brooks at flyweight.

ONE Championship awarded the opportunity to Wakamatsu, creating the matchup between him and Moraes for ONE 172. Therefore, McLaren will likely need one more win before potentially accomplishing his goal of securing a world title.

ONE 172 goes down inside the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The main event showcases a must-see flyweight kickboxing bout between Thai megastar Rodtang and Japanese legend Takeru Segawa.