ONE Championship: Demetrious Johnson praises Reece McLaren, talks flyweight division

Singapore, November 3: ONE Flyweight World Champion Demetrious Johnson has been surveying the landscape of his division and has heaped praise on of the uprising flyweight in ONE Championship.

The latest fighter in his sights is #5-ranked Reece McLaren, who defeated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu standout Windson Ramos via third-round TKO at ONE 162: Zhang vs. Di Bella on October 21.

McLaren has long been known in the ONE Circle for his slick grappling, but under a new mentor in Muay Thai legend John Wayne Parr, "Lightning" has shown rapid improvement in his striking game.

Now 14-fights into his ONE tenure, McLaren has taken on many high-level opponents over the years, perhaps the most spectacular against then-ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes in 2016.

McLaren now rides a fresh two-fight winning streak, both of which are stoppages. "Mighty Mouse" believes the 31-year-old is still a serious flyweight contender.

"Reece McLaren, he's right there. He's a great athlete. He was in the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix and came up short against [current #2 contender] Kairat Akhmetov. Yeah, his striking was good, man," he said.

"I mean, I think if you spend enough time doing something, and working with John Wayne Parr, who has been a legend of striking, you're only going to get better, right? He looked great."

The flyweight division is among the most talent rich in ONE Championship.

The current top five in Adriano Moraes, Akhmetov, Yuya Wakamatsu, Danny Kingad, and McLaren, respectively, have shared quite a few matchups between each other.

With new talent knocking on the door - such as Indonesia's Eko Roni Saputra, who's on a seven-fight winning streak and finished all his victories within a round - competition is heating up.

While sitting at the top of the tree, Johnson believes that fresh blood and added competition is good for everyone.

"Obviously, all the divisions are going to keep on growing," he said. "I think the biggest thing is that it's always good to get new, fresh faces out there in the division. I hope it continues to rise."

Source: Media Release