ONE: McLaren draws motivation from Folayang win for own title fight

Reece McLaren. Photo from ONE Championship

Reece McLaren is hoping to pull of what Eduard Folayang did two weeks ago when he challenges Bibiano Fernandes for the ONE Bantamweight title on December 2 at Mall of Asia Arena.

The 25-year-old Filipino-Australian fighter is drawing inspiration from Folayang’s technical knockout win over mixed martial arts legend Shinya Aoki to capture the ONE Lightweight crown.

“Another fellow Filipino winning a world title shows that it can be done,” said McLaren.

“Watching the fight was super exciting. I was on the edge of my seat. It was such a massive opportunity for him and to see him walk away with the victory was just so inspirational.”

Like Folayang, McLaren is going up against a seasoned fighter in Fernandes, who is riding an 11-fight winning streak. This is also the Brazilian’s fifth title defense.

“Being labeled the favorite or the underdog doesn’t really matter to me. I’m going to put a hundred percent into the work and hope it shows,” said McLaren.

McLaren, for his part, is also hoping to extend a streak of his own as he goes for a third straight upset after stunning Mark Striegl and Muin Gafurov in the ONE Championship cage.

“I’m confident I can get this win because I have Australia and the Philippines supporting me,” said McLaren. “Bibiano, it is such an honor to be facing you. I respect you a lot, but this is going to be a changing of the guard.”