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Fourth-ranked contender Reece McLaren believes Danny Kingad's promise to display an improved version of himself showed at ONE 169, though he suffered another loss to Adriano Moraes in almost identical fashion to their first. The two flyweights crossed paths for the second time under the ONE spotlight inside Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium earlier this month.
After losing their first encounter via submission in a fight for the ONE flyweight MMA world title back at ONE: Legends Of The World in November 2017, 'The King' recognized his shortcomings and focused on upping his skills on the canvas.
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While that more well-rounded arsenal helped him chalk up another handful of triumphs in the promotion over the years, it was evidently still miles short off Moraes' acumen on the canvas at ONE 169.
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Still, McLaren — a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt like Moraes — believes the Lions Nation MMA athlete did well to adjust himself to 'Mikinho's' area of expertise inside the opening frame.
Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA, Reece McLaren said:
"I thought Adriano was gonna do it in the first round. I thought he was gonna get a takedown and take it out in the first. But man, Danny made it competitive, was awesome."
Despite Kingad's ability to survive the Brazilian's attacks early on, he eventually tapped to a guillotine choke from the former divisional king and top-ranked contender at 4:14 of the second round.
Reece McLaren hopes to score big in his next assignment at ONE Fight Night 26
Reece McLaren is scheduled to return to action at ONE Fight Night 26. 'Lightning' welcomes interim ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks to the 135-pound division, and a win could potentially set himself up for a crack at gold alongside Moraes.
'Mikinho' himself has approved of that idea, telling the press shortly after his win at ONE 169 that the Australian standout deserved to fight for the world title that was vacated by MMA legend and icon Demetrious Johnson at ONE 168: Denver in September.
Find out if McLaren can secure the W over Brooks and inch closer to the flyweight crown by tuning in to ONE Fight Night 26, which will be available to active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America on Friday, Dec. 6.
