Fu Yong is set to fly the Chinese flag next week at ONE Fight Night 22 against Reece McLaren at Lumphini Stadium, and the 28-year-old says he is out to entertain fans in Bangkok. .
Yong is a quick starter with three previous wins, two of which came within rounds, and will be looking to put pressure on McLaren early on.
“I like to fight early and in person because I don’t want boring fights,” he said. “I like to fight like a warrior. I enjoy the feeling of a gunfight. It excites me, and that's why I do so well at the beginning of a fight.”
His opponent is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt who challenged for the bantamweight title in 2016. The two are currently fighting in the flyweight division, with McLaren sitting in fourth place in the rankings and Yong in fifth place. If Yong wins, he will be in a position to start talking about winning the title.
McLaren is known for his submission skills, but the Chinese fighter said he was ready.
“He's a strong grappler,” Yong said of his next opponent. “He has done a lot of preparation to keep himself from falling to the ground.
“I'm sure it won't be that easy for him to beat me. Even if he does, he'll have a hard time controlling me on the ground. And I definitely want to stay in the stands. You would think – fight.”
McLaren is a highly experienced operator who has been on the ONE Championship roster since 2015. That means Yong has plenty of footage to review and has evaluated his opponents' strengths and weaknesses.
“His hitting has definitely improved, but this improvement is not enough to make him a top striker,” Yong added. “His knockout ability is low when it comes to striking, and his physical strength and fitness are also weak.
“My advantages are heavy punching and good strength and fitness.”
Yong hasn't worked on any special techniques for McLaren, but he prefers to see how the fight unfolds and is confident he will have the opportunity to finish off the Australian sooner or later.
“We don't have any special weapons,” he said. “All I have to do is keep hitting and find opportunities to knock him out.”
The only fighter to finish off Rhys McLaren with consecutive punches was Kevin Bellingon in 2017. Yong believes he can repeat his feat and is confident that the fans at Lumphini Stadium will be firmly behind him.
“I don't think it's going to be a full three-round fight,” Yong predicted. “For me, the perfect match is one that knocks out the opponent and ignites passion in everyone watching.”
ONE Championship has two Chinese champions: strawweight queen Xiong Jingnan and featherweight champion Tang Le. Yong dreams of dominating the flyweight championship, and her victory next week against McLaren could take her a big step towards winning the title.
