Reece McLaren ends Finnish foe's unbeaten run with KO

Reece McLaren is back! Dennis Acosta (file photo)
By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Filipino-Australian fighter Reece McLaren proved why he is the fifth ranked flyweight by One Championship right now, cutting short Aleksi Toivonen's perfect run with a huge knockout at One: Reign of Dynasties at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday night.

A knee strike to Toivonen's midsection sealed the deal for McLaren as he moves closer to a possible shot at the One flyweight title currently held by Adriano Moraes.

A right hook that momentarily knocked Toivonen down set up McLaren's finishing job as the Finnish fighter could not find an answer to his opponent's barrage.

Toivonen tried to clinch at McLaren, but the latter found an opening to deliver the knee strike to the former's torso that knocked him out at the 4:18 mark of Round 1.

McLaren, who became well known after submitting Filipino mixed martial arts star Mark Striegl in 2015, moved up to 14-7, scoring his third knockout of his career.

Toivonen, on the other hand, lost for the first time after winning his first seven bouts.

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