"I'm here to fight the real fights" - Reece McLaren pumped to welcome Jarred Brooks to flyweight at ONE Fight Night 26

During his time in ONE Championship, Reece McLaren hasn't backed down from taking on the biggest challenges that are out there for him.

The Australian contender is one of the flyweight division's most seasoned competitors and part of that comes from his willingness to face the best at every turn.

In his return to action for his second fight of the year, the 33-year-old will once again be going up against a world-class opponent.

However, this time around, his foe will come from the weight class below where he's put together a stellar run since signing with the promotion.

ONE interim strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks is another mixed martial artist who hunts down the next challenge rather than trying to avoid it.

At ONE Fight Night 26 on Dec. 6, the two men will meet for the first time as McLaren welcomes Brooks to the division.

It's a high-stakes clash at Lumpinee Stadium given McLaren's standing in the division and Brooks' pedigree as a world champion. His opponent's previous success in ONE isn't something that bothers McLaren, as he told Sportskeeda MMA in a recent exclusive interview:

"No, look, I'm here to fight the real fights. So I'm fighting the world champion. Straight up, man."

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It's high risk and high reward for Reece McLaren at ONE Fight Night 26

The mentality of Reece McLaren was put to the test earlier this year in his split decision win over the dangerous Hu Yong. He showed what he's capable of by digging deep to secure the incredibly closely contested victory and he'll likely need to do the same against Brooks.

His standing at flyweight is at stake but adding the name of a world champion to his record would be a massive step forward for McLaren, especially with the flyweight MMA world title being vacant.