"There's just so much emotion" - Reece McLaren submits Xie Wei in round one at ONE 158

Reece McLaren and Xie Wei fought at ONE 158 to climb the ranks in the competitive flyweight division.

McLaren is a jiu-jitsu specialist, who was looking to stop China's Xie Wei. Wei is a former Shaolin monk, who had won all of his previous fights in ONE by way of TKO.

'The Hunter' Wei was able to show his power and earn a knockdown. However, the submission game from McLaren was too much. Despite getting dropped early in round one, the Australian was able to secure a takedown and earn a rear-naked choke victory at 3:42 of the first round.

How close was he to getting knocked out? He told Mitch Chilson during his post-fight interview that he was close:

"I was treading the line of that red zone, took me a bit to get back in that blue zone."

With tears in his eyes, he struggled to talk in the interview. The emotions began to overcome him as he said:

"There's just so much emotion. I lost a friend earlier this year to cancer, this one's for you, mate... Happy Birthday to my beautiful fiancee, turning 30, and I'm here chasing my dreams basically and she's supporting me."

Wei entered this bout on a three-fight win streak, while McLaren was coming off a loss and looking to get back in the win column. Now, after earning his first victory since 2021, McLaren will remain highly ranked in the division.

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Reece McLaren vs. Xie Wei play-by-play

In round one, the two fighters exchanged powerful punches before McLaren accidentally kicked his opponent in the cup from an inside thigh kick. Once the action resumed, McLaren landed a glancing headkick that did not seem to bother Wei.

Xie Wei caught a low kick and landed a huge punch on his Australian opponent. 'The Hunter' then landed a cross that dropped 'Lightning'. However, McLaren popped right back to his feet.

The two fighters traded shots before McLaren earned a double leg takedown which put Wei against the fence. They grappled and exchanged guard positions. Xie Wei rolled and stood up with Reece McLaren hanging on to his back looking for a rear-naked choke. 'Lightning' eventually locked in the choke and Wei dropped to the ground and tapped out.

In the post-fight interview, Reece McLaren said that he struggled to find time to train and that he can do better. He wants to hop back into the ONE circle soon and asked to fight in August:

"This was me on half a camp... Get on that August card, that August card looks amazing. I think I deserve a rematch with Danny [Kingad]."