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Australian-based Filipino fighter Reece McLaren promises to be his best when he competes for the first time this year against Aleksi Toivonen of Finland in ONE: Reign of Dynasties co-main event on October 9.
McLaren last raced in December 2019, earning a victory over Gurdarshan Mangat. He said the long break has given him the opportunity to work even harder on his game.
“I made some leaps and bounds in some aspects of mixed martial arts so it definitely made me go back, slow things down and study more positions,” McLaren told ONEFC.com.
“I think [the fans are] I’m going to look better, better. In the last six months, I have made massive progress. ”
When the pair meet next week, it will be a battle between two top-notch fighters. Six of Toivonen’s seven victories came from introductions, and McLaren knows that an opponent of that pedigree should not be underestimated.
“He looks strong and he seems to take my back really well,” McLaren said. “Fight very well. Being the European champion is a great achievement. I know that the grappling circuit in Europe is of a very high level. They have all the big guns for the Europeans, so that means he’s a very good fighter. ”
But McLaren does not rule out the possibility of gutting him on the feet with his Finnish opponent.
There’s a good chance their grappling skills will cancel each other out, and if the match shifts to the hitting department, McLaren has no trouble standing up and trading.
“I think it could be either way. Either it will be a stand-up battle when the two fighters match, or it will turn into a massive fight, “said McLaren.
“I’m a mixed martial artist, so wherever I can take it to my advantage, I’ll take it there.”
Catch ONE: REIGN OF DYNASTIES on October 9 for free by downloading the ONE Super App.
