Kairat Akhmetov surprised he drew Reece McLaren again

Kairat Akhmetov was not overly thrilled to find out he would once again face Reece McLaren inside the Circle.

Having already scored a victory over the Aussie in 2019, Akhmetov thought his days of competing against ‘Lightning’ were behind him. That was until the promotion came to him with a proposed rematch.

In an interview with ONE Champions, Akhmetov admitted that he was not particularly excited about fighting a man he’s already beaten, but in the end, getting back inside the Circle was the most important thing. He said:

“I was surprised when I was offered him again as I’ve already fought Reece. I don’t want to face the same guys repeatedly. I want to move on and face someone new. But at the end of the day, I need to fight, and I don’t really care who I fight, so I just signed the contract.”

Kairat Akhmetov is currently riding a five-fight win streak, including his victory over Reece McLaren at ONE: A New Era more than four years ago. ‘The Kazakh’ was hopeful that his latest run would be enough to score him a ONE world title fight, but it looks as though he’ll need to score one more W in order to dance with the division’s top dog.

Who that will be is to be determined as ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson once again squares off with division rival and former titleholder Adriano Moraes in a highly anticipated trilogy bout. The pair will headline ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video on May 5 when ONE Championship makes its long-awaited U.S. debut.

Kairat Akmetov and Reece McLaren will vie for a ONE world title opportunity that same night, just a few short hours before Johnson and Moraes settle their business.

McLaren will go into the bout winning four of his last five, including back-to-back finishes against Xie Wei and Windson Ramos in 2022.

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch ONE Fight Night 10 live and for free in U.S. primetime on May 5.