Reece McLaren returns to the circle on June 3, faces Xie Wei at ONE 158

Reece McLaren (left) will face Xie Wei (right) at ONE 158. [Photos ONE Championship]
Reece McLaren (left) will face Xie Wei (right) at ONE 158. [Photos ONE Championship]

Reece McLaren will be making his way back to the circle when he takes on Chinese knockout artist Xie Wei at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen. The card is set for June 3 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

ONE Championship announced the development on Instagram in a post that McLaren also shared.

The promotion posted:

“Heads up! 😬 Fifth-ranked flyweight contender Reece Mclaren returns to the Circle on 3 June against Chinese warrior Xie Wei at ONE 158! 👊@reecelightning91."

McLaren is one of the most exciting fighters in the division, possessing unrelenting speed and technical savvy.

The No.5 flyweight contender has seven wins in ONE Championship across the bantamweight and flyweight divisions. The Australian star also holds five finishes to his name and his last stoppage win was a first-round knockout win against Aleksi Toivonen in October 2020.

Xie, meanwhile, is one of the most devastating strikers in the flyweight division. The Chinese star is on a three-fight winning streak, with all of those victories coming by way of knockouts. Xie’s last win was a third-round stoppage of South Korea’s Dae Hwan Kim in August 2021.

While Xie has the striking power to bring down almost anyone he faces, McLaren undoubtedly has the more valuable experience between them.McLaren has been fighting under ONE Championship since 2015 and once challenged legendary Brazilian Bibiano Fernandes for the ONE bantamweight world title in December 2016.


Reece McLaren works with John Wayne Parr ahead of his comeback

While the formal announcement was made this late in May, Reece McLaren knew he would be returning to the circle midway through April.

McLaren teased his fans back in April that news about his return to the cage was imminent. While he waited for the official announcement, ‘Lightning’ linked up with legendary Australian striker John Wayne Parr.

The two have been sharing snippets of their training sessions on Instagram, with Parr getting into a bit of mixed martial arts action as well.

Although Parr is already retired, his appearance at ONE 158 isn’t a farfetched idea.

The kickboxing and Muay Thai icon fought his last match at ONE X last March when fought former ONE lightweight world champion Eduard Folayang in a legend vs. legend matchup.

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