One Championship is continuing to cut costs.
Earlier this year, the promotion moved its base of operations away from Singapore to Bangkok, Thailand. Generally, One has leaned into Muay Thai heavily in recent years, cutting down on the number of MMA fights and releasing some of their big name athletes. Between available financial numbers and this trend, it’s widely believed that One Championship cannot
afford to book their own athletes.
Many have claimed about being benched indefinitely. One fighter who offered such complaint and claimed he was “ghosted” by One matchmakers was former title challenger and top-ranked Bantamweight Reece McLaren. Seven months later, “Lightning” has received his wish and is a free agent.
He’s not alone. Per a report from Nick Atkin, McLaren is among four other athletes who are no longer on the One roster. Aside from McLaren, the fighters released are former Lightweight kickboxing champ Alexis Nicolas, MMA fighters Alyse Anderson and Ahmed Mujtaba, and Muay Thai Featherweight Cody Jerome.
McClaren leaves riding a two-fight win streak over quality competition, including former Flyweight king Jarred Brooks. Anderson, Mutjaba, and Jerome all lost their most recent appearances, so those cuts aren’t overly shocking. As for the former champ, he’s technically lost two straight to the man who snatched his title, Regian Eersel. Despite those defeats, he’s still ranked as a top Welterweight globally.
