"The leaders in martial arts over the whole world" - Reece McLaren's near 7-year run with ONE Championship

Reece McLaren has been a mainstay in ONE Championship for many years. On Friday, 'Lightning' will add to his legacy when he steps into the ONE circle against the streaking Wei Xie at ONE 158.

Ahead of his bout, McLaren spoke to Sportskeeda's Dylan Bowker about the growth of ONE Championship that he has personally experienced throughout his years with the organization. He replied with:

"It's amazing you know. They were really trying to pick up when they signed us and now look at ONE. It's definitely the leaders in martial arts over the whole world I believe. Everyone can agree it really is leading the way."

While talking about the evolution of talent that has graced the ONE circle, Reece McLaren said that he believes ONE Championship features the best flyweights in the world, specifically name-dropping former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.

"Oh, actually, I've said it for a long time, I believe that the best flyweights are in ONE and with DJ (Demetrious Johnson) there, you can't even argue that it's not. As far as my competitive, looking at it all, this is where you want to be."

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Reece McLaren would like to see ONE Championship go on tour again

While ONE Championship has made a home in Singapore, the promotion has a history of touring to other locations such as Prague, Tokyo, London and Istanbul to name a few. While speaking with Dylan Bowker, McLaren said that he would like to see the company go on tour again. Particularly if it gives him an opportunity to rematch Danny Kingad in the Philippines, Kingad's home country.

"I love the Philippines so much. Just competing in that Manila stadium is amazing and that whole setup they have in mind is crazy. I feel like I got ripped off pretty hard on that one. I'd love to run that one back, but I'd like to run them all back to be honest."

Back in 2019, Reece McLaren faced Danny Kingad at ONE Championship: Dawn of Heroes in Manila, Philippines. After three rounds, Kingad was declared the winner via a closely contested split decision. Based on his comments, this is a fight that McLaren would love to run back.

Unfortunately, Reece McLaren will likely need to wait before he can see that happen under the right lights at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila. ONE Championship's schedule for the remainder of the year will run exclusively at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, but with the world finally starting to move on from the COVID-19 pandemic, it's possible that ONE may hit the road in 2023.