Australian muay Thai legend John Wayne Parr has given his thoughts on his star pupil ahead of their trip to the United States for ONE Fight Night 10 the promotion’s historic American debut.
Reece McLaren will face his old rival, former ONE flyweight world champion Kairat Akhmetov, in a long-awaited rematch at the 1STBANK Center in Denver, Colorado, on May 5, and the bout could decide the next challenger to the flyweight crown.
Parr says that McLaren – ONE Championship’s No. 4-ranked flyweight contender – is hungrier than ever as he grinds away at Boonchu Gym in search of another world title opportunity.
“A very tough fight, but we’re working very hard with Reece. We’re trying to counter that southpaw style. It’s going to be a very exciting fight,” he said.
“Reece wants it so badly. He wants to put himself in that elimination spot because he could be fighting for the title next.”
McLaren has a long and storied history with ONE, with 14 fights under his belt dating all the way back to 2015.
“Lightning” started his ONE career with two dominant wins over highly regarded young talent, using his world-class grappling prowess to achieve victory. That even led to a crack at then-ONE bantamweight world champion Bibiano Fernandes‘ gold, which he lost via split decision.
But even though McLaren is known for his grappling, he has shown the evolution of his standup game since linking up with Parr – a multiple-time muay Thai world champion – in 2022.
Parr feels that the Aussie MMA star’s new striking tools will be his biggest advantage over the ultra-strong Akhmetov.
“Well, his striking is at the next level now. His ground game has always been amazing, and now, his striking is quite strong, as well,” he said.
“He’s putting his combinations together very well, and he can switch it from southpaw to orthodox. That should be a bit of an advantage also. His cardio can really go for days and not get tired.”
ONE Fight Night 10 will not be the first time that McLaren and Akhmetov lock horns.
The pair faced off in the ONE flyweight world grand prix quarterfinals back in 2019, with the Kazakh star claiming victory via unanimous decision.
In Parr’s view, it was the standing sequences in which the fight was won and lost. This time around, he says, McLaren is ready to show out wherever the fight goes.
“He lost the first fight (against Akhmetov) with one-way striking. So hopefully, in this fight again, (he can show some new tricks) depending on where it goes. On his feet, Reece now has more confidence in his new tools, he really likes the striking element,” he offered.
“But if it goes to the ground, he’s happy to be anywhere – striking or submissions. Either way, he’s world-class.”
