“There's no luck tonight” – Reece McLaren says he deserved victory in razor-close contest over phenomenal Hu Yong 

ONE flyweight MMA veteran Reece McLaren returned to his winning ways at ONE Fight Night 22 last weekend. He did so by out-scoring China's Hu Yong in a razor-close three-round contest.

While some would argue that the Chinese fighter should have had his hand raised that night, an equal amount of people - McLaren included - that the Aussie deserved the win.

In his post-event media scrum, McLaren addressed his win by saying:

“Yeah, I was very surprised if it even goes like that, not again, please not again. I think it's time that my luck swayed, right. There's no luck tonight. I feel like definitely, that was, I claim victory in my life.”

Close or not, this is a huge win for McLaren, who just beat a fighter on a three-fight winning streak. At the end of the day, this victory undoubtedly increases his stock in the ONE flyweight MMA division.

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Reece McLaren vs. Hu Yong at ONE Fight Night 22 play-by-play

Hu Yong drew the proverbial first blood by landing a right hand that hurt Reece McLaren. The Aussie tried to nullify the threat of Hu's hands by taking the fight to the ground - eventually taking the back. The Chinese fighter was able to wiggle himself out of the situation and proceeded to land more powerful shots - while McLaren desperately tried to take him down with moderate success.

Things were quite even in round two, with 'Lightning' McLaren surprisingly holding his own in the striking department. While Hu appeared to have been landing the harder shot, McLaren was able to land a few combinations of his own - while mixing in a takedown or two.

This trend continued into the third round, with Hu being a constant KO threat with his power and McLaren using his movement to land nifty combinations and well-timed takedowns. Come the final bell, McLaren's relentless aggression and willingness to engage with Hu's dangerous hands won him the close split-decision win.

The replay of ONE Fight Night 22 is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.