"He's just such an inspiration" - Reece McLaren speaks on new coach John Wayne Parr

Like any martial artist from Australia, Reece McLaren took inspiration from the career of legendary striker John Wayne Parr. So when the two formed a coach-student relationship, the No. 5 flyweight contender felt as if he was always having the time of his life during training.

The results of those training sessions will be put to the test when McLaren returns to the circle to take on China’s Xie Wei at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen on Friday, which will be broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

McLaren, in an interview with ONE Championship, said that Parr has such a jolly approach to fighting and training that it’s almost stress-free whenever they work together. The learning process, too, goes both ways between the two Australian fighters.

Reece McLaren said:

“I remember years and years ago, you have fighters that [think] everything has to be perfect. When something doesn't go, right, agh, it's like, ‘let's see if I can fight him, I'm going to lose the fight.’ You need the person that comes in they're happy and smiling. If something doesn't go right, ‘ah, it's alright.’ They take it in their best stride and they kick it on.”

Parr was, primarily, a Muay Thai and kickboxing artist in his career but he’s now taking Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA classes with McLaren there to help his mentor.

“Yeah, we've had him rolling. He's been doing some MMA classes as well. So let's see. He's also like, so open to learning as well. He's just such an inspiration.”

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Reece McLaren feels his life has come full circle

From idolizing Parr to learning from the man himself, Reece McLaren said it was almost surreal to have his idol now hold the mitts for him.

According to McLaren, it felt strange when he first started training with Parr since ‘The Gunslinger’ was such a respected figure in Australia’s overall sporting landscape.

From idolizing the man, McLaren eventually formed a familial bond with his idol and ultimately got to know Parr on a personal level. ‘Lightning’ felt at home at Parr’s Boonchu Gym:

“You know, just things kind of ran full circle and now I'm training out of there full time. So yeah, I've been welcomed into the Boonchu family and I'm very proud to call myself now a fighter from Boonchu.”

He added:

“It's a strange one because it's always like, look up to people. And then you finally like, meet them and then start to like, grow a relationship with someone with such high caliber and whatever. And man, it's just like, we were all just ordinary people, you know what I mean.”