“We survived the storm” - Reece McLaren recalls gritty victory over hard-hitting Hu Yong 

Reece McLaren had to dig deep to walk away with a victory in his last outing.

After seeing his two-fight win streak snapped at the hands of former ONE flyweight MMA world champion Kairat Akhmetov in May 2023, 'Lighting' was bound and determined to climb back into the win column in his return to the Circle at ONE Fight Night 22.

Standing in McLaren's way was Hu Yong, a 28-year-old Chinese standout who went into the bout with eight wins in nine outings under the ONE Championship banner.

It was no easy task for McLaren — especially after getting dropped early in the opening round — but the Aussie never backed down and eeked out a split-decision victory after three intense rounds of back-and-forth action.

Looking back on his bounce-back victory, McLaren knew it would be no easy task against a fighter like Hu, who always comes in hot and ready to throw leather.

"We knew he was gonna come in hard, and we survived the storm," McLaren told Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview. "Skill-wise, it's a hard one to answer because he's so dangerous, right? So he's got the big hands."

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Reece McLaren faces strawweight champion Jarred Brooks at ONE Fight Night 26

Having won three of his last four, Reece McLaren will face one of his toughest tests to date at ONE Fight Night 26 on Friday, December 6.

On that night, 'Lightning' will go toe-to-toe with interim ONE strawweight MMA world champion Jarred 'The Monkey God' Brooks in a bout that could have major flyweight title implications.

Brooks will be stepping up a weight class four months removed from his first-round submission victory over Gustavo Balart to become the interim strawweight titleholder.

Should he bag a victory over McLaren inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, he could find himself ranked in the flyweight top five — earning him a potential shot at the vacant flyweight MMA crown.

Will 'The Monkey God' take a giant step toward champ-champ status at ONE Fight Night 26, or will McLaren earn himself a shot at 26 pounds of ONE Championship gold?

Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE Fight Night 26 live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, December 6 in U.S. primetime.