“He has to hate his opponent” - Reece McLaren comments on Jarred Brooks’ penchant for starting beef with his adversaries

If Jarred Brooks wants to start a war of words with Reece McLaren before they step inside the ring, 'Lightning' has no problem with that.

Emanating from the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, McLaren will welcome 'The Monkey God' to flyweight when the interim ONE strawweight MMA world champion moves up a weight class to clash with McLaren at ONE Fight Night 26 on Prime Video.

Ever since their bout was first announced, Brooks has been in trash-talk mode. That's certainly nothing new for 'The Monkey God', who tends to pick a fight with his opponent before the actual fight.

Speaking with Sportskeeda MMA, McLaren made it clear that he has no problem with Brooks' verbal jab so long as they eventually get to settle things on martial arts' biggest global stage.

"He has to hate people, he has to hate his opponent," McLaren said. "This is what he has to do. And now I’m gonna be fighting him and I’m totally cool with it. Let him [do what he has to do]. Let's go!"

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Jarred Brooks says he'll be 'bigger than we've ever seen' at ONE Fight Night 26

When Jarred Brooks steps up to flyweight at ONE Fight Night 26, he'll be doing so for the very first time.

Given that many see 'The Monkey God' as undersized even for the strawweight division, there are a lot of questions surrounding how he'll fare against a much bigger opponent in an even bigger weight class.

Offering his assessment of the situation during an interview with The MMA Superfan, Brooks said:

"I'm super excited to show the world that I can go up a weight class, even though I am a small strawweight, right? I'm probably the smallest strawweight on the roster, weight-wise. I make weight super easy but watch me.

"You're going to see me, December 6, and I'm going to be bigger than you've ever seen. And I think that that's going to surprise Reece McLaren too."

Will 'The Monkey God' make a splash in the flyweight division, or will Reece McLaren send him back to strawweight with a loss on his resume?

Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE Fight Night 26 live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, December 6 in U.S. primetime.