ONE Championship: Training with John Wayne Parr brought out an improved Reece McLaren

Flyweight MMA dynamo Reece McLaren has had his fair share of success in ONE Championship. However, he's also had slight setbacks along his journey.

He dropped a split-decision loss to Danny Kingad in the semifinals of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix in 2019. Likewise, he lost to Yuya Wakamatsu via unanimous decision at "ONE on TNT III" in April 2021. Moreover, McLaren has only one knockout victory in The Home of Martial Arts.

So, sensing the need to improve his striking, he started training with legendary Muay Thai fighter John Wayne Parr at Boonchu Gym in Australia.

Parr wrapped up his illustrious fighting career at ONE X in March against former ONE Flyweight World Champion Eduard Folayang to focus solely on coaching.

As a multiple Muay Thai and kickboxing World Champion, he is the perfect mentor to balance out McLaren - a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. A few months into their partnership, Parr already sees marked improvements in his student.

"His boxing has increased, his kicking has improved, and his defenses are getting a lot better. It's just an exciting prospect," Parr told ONEFC.com.

"He has incredible jiu-jitsu and wrestling. And then the last missing piece was to add a little bit more striking. So, we've been working on that for the last few months."

That accumulation of knowledge led McLaren to feel confident leading into his match against Xie Wei at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen on 3 June.

"I think I'll do whatever I want, to be honest," he said. "Sit down, judges. You ain't going to be needed. I see not only weakness in his game but also in everyone's game. Jiu-jitsu, baby."

His declaration came true when he finished the Chinese star with a rear-naked choke at the 3:42 mark of round one. However, he wanted to manifest his refined striking by using his boxing and attempting head kicks.

That approach went nowhere, though, as Xie knocked him with an overhead right. McLaren quickly recovered and eventually brought the match to the ground. Xie tried to fight back but to no avail.

The Aussie sealed his third victory in four matches and now looks to avenge his previous setback against Kingad.

If the bout did happen, it would be another opportunity for McLaren to manifest his improved arsenal. With Parr on his side, things are only looking up for the #5-ranked flyweight contender.

In the meantime, ONE Championship returns to action with ONE 159 on 22 July. Two-division ONE World Champion Reinier de Ridder will defend the ONE Middleweight World Championship against Vitaly Bigdash.

Also, ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion Janet Todd takes on WBC Muay Thai World Champion Lara Fernandez for the ONE Interim Women's Atomweight Muay Thai World Title.

Source: Media Release