Herb Dean is the referee. Pereira lands a hard body kick to begin
the main card. Pereira counters a kick with a glancing overhand,
but Reese seems to be OK. Pereira jabs the body. Pereira counters
another kick with a right hand and Reese goes down. Pereira
welcomes Reese back to his feet. Reese lands a body kick. Pereira
with a front kick down the middle. Pereira jabs the body. Reese
moves in and lands a knee to the body. Reese attempts an inside leg
kick, but Herb Dean calls time because it apparently landed low.
The crowd isn’t buying it but Pereira takes about a minute. Pereira
tries for that same overhand counter following a Reese kick but
it’s not as successful as it was earlier. Reese moves in and lands
a combination to the body. Reese kicks the body, and Pereira
grimaces, as it landed below the belt again. A replay review
determines that it was indeed a foul, despite the protests of the
fans. Reese lands a kick and they engage in the clinch, with both
men swinging wildly during a brief exchange. An errant spinning
attack by Reese results in a takedown for Pereira. Reese stands,
but Pereira grabs the neck and lands a couple knees on the break.
Pereira stabs the body with a front kick. Reese leaps in wildly,
but Pereira can’t capitalize. Reese makes his foe stumble with a
low kick before the horn. Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Pereira Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Pereira Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Pereira

Reese targets the body with kicks. They clinch, and Pereira lands a
pair of hard knees to the gut. They clinch and Pereira lands
another knee before pushing Reese to the wire. They separate in
short order. Pereira lands a right followed by a knee. Reese had
his fingers extended during an exchange, and he poked Pereira in
the eye. This results in the third timeout of the fight due to a
foul by Reese. No point is taken and the action resumes. Reese
quickly lands a takedown in the center of the cage. Reese peppers
the Brazilian with left hands from half guard. Reese maintains a
body lock as Pereira stands. Reese is busted open. Reese lands a
body kick. A counter left freezes Pereira where he stands. Pereira
throws a right to the body. Reese moves in and Pereira land a
leaping knee. They crash forward, with both men landing in an
exchange. Reese is holding his hands low as he lands a right.
Pereira jabs the body while avoiding a high kick. Another body kick
for Reese. Reese lands a two-punch combination. Reese throws a
front kick to the body and Pereira urges him on. Reese just misses
with a flying knee. Pereira responds with a rolling somersault kick
at the horn. Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Reese Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Reese Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Reese

Reese opens with a body kick. Pereira throws a push kick to the
body. Reese lands a leg kick and is warned to keep his hands
closed. Reese attacks the body with another kick. They collide in
the clinch and separate. Reese closes distance and lands a knee.
Pereira connects with a straight right. A lead leg head kick lands
for Reese, as these two keep trading one-off attacks. Reese with a
two-punch solid combination. Pereira sticks a jab. Reese kicks the
body. Pereira lands a counter right. Reese lands a right uppercut
to the body followed by a left hand over the top. Pereira closes
the distance and Reese nearly had a choke locked. Periera was a ble
to scramble up. That sets the stage for another exchange. Both men
land heavy shots initially, but they’re mostly swinging and missing
in the waning seconds, save for a Pereira knee down the middle. Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Reese (29-28 Reese) Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Reese (29-28 Reese) Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Reese (29-28 Reese)

It’s fight day, like many Saturdays before this one. With a dozen
bouts playing out the next six-ish hours at the UFC Apex, ranked
talents may be at a premium but hopefully the action makes this
night worthwhile. The broadcast kicks off without touching on the
betting scandal that blossomed last week, so it’s anyone’s guess
which direction that will take. Bring on the mutual combat. With
this pairing coming together this week, a pair of middleweights
elected to set this bout at 195 pounds to alleviate some of the
pain of weight cutting. McVey (6-1, 0-1 UFC) was planning on Robert
Valentin, but in his injured stead will be Texas’ Reese (9-2, 1 NC;
3-2, 1 NC UFC). The athletes bump fists in front of referee Chris
Tognoni to open up the festivities. McVey offers out an oblique kick, and Reese immediately counters
with a left hand over the top. Reese sits down on a nasty calf kick
and takes McVey off-balance, prompting McVey to surge forward and
attack. McVey bashes his man from up close with elbows and short
strikes, and Reese shakes them off and delivers a plethora of
damaging uppercuts to shake McVey up. The two proceed to rip into
one another, hammering one another in a brutal muay thai fashion
with blood already flowing a minute in and some harm inflicted on
both sides. Reese takes a few elbows up top and pushes McVey from
one side of the cage to the other, but it is McVey who is still in
the driver’s seat. McVey punishes his opponent with knees to the
body, and one particularly effective one puts Reese on his knees.
Reese explodes back to his feet and comes back firing, but it is
McVey who is hitting harder. Reese has some success when under fire, and he gets a bit of
unwelcome relief when McVey drives a knee directly into his cup.
Reese groans, and Tognoni immediately calls time as McVey
apologizes. Reese walks off to recover, and Tognoni calls in the
doctor to check on the fresh cut above his eyebrow that spans
nearly halfway from end to end. Reese is cleared to continue, and
he paces back and forth to keep getting his wind back. A mouse
starts to develop on the forehead of “Savage,” who does not appear
compromised but may have gassed himself out in the first few
minutes of fury so he gets some of that back. The Apex is quiet so
there is no external pressure for him to hurry back to placate
bloodthirsty fans, allowing Reese to comfortably walk back and
forth adjusting his cup. Tognoni keeps him informed, and after 2:30
of time off, they resume and immediately start brawling. McVey’s swings back Reese up quickly, and they proceed to tie one
another up and trade to bash one another with clinch strikes. Reese
keeps McVey honest with a few elbows, and he drives a shot to the
body to open up more attacks upstairs. Reese presses forward and
his momentum bowls McVey over as he lands on top. McVey defends off
his back with feeble elbows, because Reese easily clears his hips
and moves to side control to isolate one arm for a kimura. Reese
goes over a little too far, so he sets up an inverted triangle
choke and flirts with an armbar as well. McVey rolls him over and
stacks Reese up, and they ride the round out. McVey has now
officially completed one round of combat for the first time as a
pro. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 McVey Devin Tejada scores the round: 10-9 McVey Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 McVey

The fighters bump fists to reintroduce themselves, and Reese starts
off with a sticking leg kick. McVey responds by powering forward to
set up his preferred clinch range to let loose with elbows and
knees to the body. As Reese sees this coming, he trips “The Moose”
up and puts him on his back to take most of his weapons away. Reese
postures up to drive down a huge strike, and McVey times him
perfectly to spin to the side and get to his knees. Rather than
fight back up, however, McVey instead tries to snatch onto a
guillotine choke and jump for it. Reese pops out of it almost
immediately, and he looks to engage with ground-and-pound. McVey
turns to get out, but in the process, he gives up his back. Reese gladly accepts it, locks up the body triangle and secures a
rear-naked choke. McVey’s corner shouts that he cannot give up, but
the choke has him dead to rights with no way out. Rather than go
out on his shield, “The Moose” calls it quits by tapping out on
Reese’s arm a few times. This marks the first time
that Reese had ever performed a stoppage out of the first
round.

Mike Beltran is the referee. Dumas comes out aggressively, with a
double jab-straight combination. Fighting from opposing stances,
the middleweights trade low kicks. A hard inside low kick lands for
Dumas, but moments later, “The Reaper” absorbs an audible kick to
the groin from Reese. Dumas immediately collapses to the canvas in
agony and the crowd groans upon viewing the replay. Now a doctor
has come in to talk to Dumas, who remains on his knees. He informs
the doctor that, “I cannot feel my right ball.” Beltran tries to
encourage Dumas to stand up, but he says he can’t get up. After
that revelation, Beltran waves off the fight. Reese yells in
frustration before walking over to apologize to Dumas. This one
will be a no contest due to the accidental foul.

The prelims were short at just four bouts, and the main card kicks
off with a middleweight action fight that practically promises that
referee Herb Dean will get involved before too long. Reese (8-2,
2-2 UFC) and Todorovic (12-5, 3-5 UFC) combine for 18 stoppages in
their 20 pro wins, with knockouts their preferred method of
victory. Before they try to lop one another’s head off, the two
185ers bump fists. Reese introduces himself with a body kick, and
Todorovic does the same. Todorovic doubles up on a kick with
another and shoots for a takedown. Reese scrambles and finds his
way on top, with Todorovic sitting up for a guillotine choke. Reese
lifts Todorovic up and tosses him down, and Todorovic mounts him
with the guillotine intact. Reese fights his way through it, his
neck still in jeopardy, and he works his way to his feet. Todorovic
uses the choke to maintain control and impose his weight, and
lowers Reese down to the ground to knee him in the side. When Reese
gets up, Todorovic muscles him back to his knees. The Texan
explodes back to his feet, kneeing his man in the gut and fighting
off a trip to thump “Thunder” with a hard shoulder strike. Reese
backs off and avoids a pair of hooks, fires off a head kick that
misses the mark and resets. Todorovic charges at him with a swarm
of fists, and Reese blocks most of them and gives one back until he
gets clinched. Todorovic trips Reese out, and when Todorovic stands
above him, Reese searches for a leglock. Todorovic fights it off,
and he ignores an upkick on the side of the dome so he can lower
himself down to top position. Reese closes his guard, and he hacks
with elbows off his back. Todorovic responds with a few right hands
from above, and he elbows down to club “Savage” a few times.
Todorovic stacks his man up and unleashes nasty hammerfists that
drill into his foe’s jaw again and again. The horn sounds. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Todorovic Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Todorovic Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Todorovic

A glove touch begins the second round, where Reese wants to start
off hot and cracks Todorovic with a three-punch combo. Reese
reaches his man with a fierce right hand, forcing Todorovic to
engage a clinch. Reese breaks away and slaps his foe in the ribs
with a kick. When Todorovic shoots for a takedown, Reese counters
him with an uppercut but does not break his stride. They share
short strikes on one another, and Reese leans back and drives a
knee to the stomach that allows him to break off. Todorovic fakes a
right hand to shoots for an awkward takedown, and Reese ignores it
and counters with an overhand right. Reese stands firm with a
one-two on the chin, walking through a body kick to jump at him
with a knee. When he misses, Todorovic offers him a high-five.
Reese leans back to avoid an overhand right, and Todorovic grabs
hold of him and bullies him to the wall. Reese breaks free and
catches Todorovic coming in with a short left, but it is
one-and-done as he chambers and fires a body kick. What follow is a
front kick, and an evasive maneuver when Todorovic rushes him.
Todorovic fakes high for a level change, and Reese tosses him aside
and wings a right hand and puts a front kick on the chest.
Todorovic shoots for and lands a takedown, and Reese defends with a
guillotine choke, only to find himself in Von Preux choke danger.
Todorovic stacks him up rather than looking for the counter sub,
and this lets Reese burst upright to get up. Todorovic stays
pressed to him, ripping the body with a few punches and getting
uppercutted for his handiwork. The two clinch up and end the
round. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Reese Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Reese Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Reese

The fighters walk towards one another cautiously to start off the
final frame, offering a glove touch and getting back to swinging.
Reese loops wider shots, but when they land, they do with audible
thuds. Todorovic gets him back with a couple of calf kicks, and
Reese splits his guard with a long left hand. Reese twirls
Todorovic around when the Serbian fighter shoots in on the hips,
and he chains a few punches behind it. When Todorovic scores, Reese
clubs him with a right on the ear. Reese spins with a kick to the
body, and Todorovic smiles and high-fives him. Reese gathers
himself and boots his man in the body and tries one up high, while
Todorovic’s volume has plummeted. Reese stays on the outside
potshotting his foe with body kicks, and when Todorovic charges
him, Reese is light on his feet popping him here and there.
Todorovic lashes out with a right hand that busts open Reese’s
nose, and Reese responds with a leaping takedown shot that is
stonewalled. Todorovic sweeps the leg and connects with another
power right hand, using the strikes to set up a takedown. Reese
gets pushed to the wall and spins out, sneaking a knee to the body
on his way out. Todorovic looks for one final takedown, and Reese
stops it and uppercuts him a few times before the grueling match
concludes. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Reese (29-28 Reese) Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Reese (29-28 Reese) Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Reese (29-28 Reese)

As recent as a week ago, Reese (8-1, 2-1 UFC) was planning on
facing Sedriques Dumas. Unfortunately for the latter, he was forced
to withdraw, and in steps a former LFA middleweight champion—but
not Eryk Anders, Markus Perez, Anthony Hernandez, Ian Heinisch,
Brendan Allen, Gregory Rodrigues, Josh Silveira, Osman Diaz or
Lucas Fernando. It is all about the self-proclaimed “Iron” Bekoev
(18-3, 0-0 UFC), a Russian in the American Top Team pipeline that
can end a fight any way he chooses. Referee Blake Grice draws the
charge for the 185ers, sealing the cage as the combatants come
together to gingerly touch their tips—of their gloves. Bekoev
pushes the pace immediately, and he walks straight into a head
kick. The Russian wears it well and then absorbs a right hand, and
he responds with a high kick that bangs into the pectoral. Reese
reaches out with a knee and swipes out with a left hook, and he
sways back to avoid a counter. Reese knees the body, and Bekoev
responds by attacking a single-leg takedown. When Reese connects
with an elbow, he falls to his back and almost instantly sets up an
armbar. Bekoev punches his way out of it but cannot quite establish
top control, holding on as he slides into the guard landing
strikes. Reese replies with sharp elbows off his back and an upkick
anywhere he can find the space to hit. Both fighters trade
surprisingly heavy blows, with Reese hacking with elbows while
Bekoev beats on him with his fists. Reese pushes off but cannot get
Bekoev off of him, so he resorts to spamming more elbows while
absorbing punishment from above. Reese rolls for an armbar, but
there is nothing to it as Bekoev starts to work Reese over with
punches. Bekoev continues to club Reese with vicious ground-and-pound, and
as his strikes land, Reese goes out. Grice rushes between them to
stop the fight, and he inadvertently tackles Reese to bang his head
off the back of the mat. Reese is totally unconscious,
and it takes a frightening amount of time for him to regain his
senses. He tries to sit up and then stand, but he does not have his
legs beneath him as medical professionals tend to him. He has
regained consciousness and is responsive to questions, but still
looks around the arena wide-eyed as if he has no idea what just
happened. Meanwhile, this is a statement introduction for Bekoev,
who completely flatlined Reese with ground-and-pound while in the
guard—a rare knockout indeed.

Seeing who is about to take the stage next, judges take a sigh of
relief while referee Dan Miragliotta sharply inhales. Texas-based
chaos agent Reese (7-1, 1-1 UFC) is about to sling leather with
ultraviolent Bolivian Medina (11-3, 0-0 UFC) in a middleweight
crash-em-up derby. Between the two, they celebrate one win on the
scorecards. Before mayhem ensues, there is a brief shared glove
touch. Medina wants to get to business, and immediately jabs to say
hello. Reese doubles up on body kicks and clubs Medina with a left
hand, backing the Bolivian to the wall. Reese dings him with a few
punches and backs off rather than staying in firing range, instead
coming forward when he finds the angle he seeks. Reese cracks his
foe with a right hand, and he ducks down and secures a clean
double-leg takedown to put “Chicho” on his back. Reese does not
even get in the guard before pounding down with left hands, and he
opens up with ground-and-pound that shreds Medina’s forehead open.
Medina turns his back to get to his knees and wall-walk, and Reese
clings to him from behind and lifts Medina in the air with a
single-leg takedown. Medina again gets up, this time with less
effort, and Reese attempts a mat return. Medina turns around and
Reese lets him have it with three fiery punches. Medina backs off
and absorbs a ferocious body kick that nearly doubles him over, and
he keeps a stiff upper lip and guards against a head kick. Medina
paws his way in with right hooks that miss the mark, and Reese
kicks him in the side and then blasts him with a liver kick. Medina
retreats to the cage wall, and Reese charges after him, unloading
with fists of fury. Medina ducks underneath the power strikes,
grabs the Texan from the side and slings him to the canvas. Medina
lowers himself into the guard, and Reese sits up and starts to set
up a guillotine choke. Reese rolls his man over with the choke, and
he uses the painful submission to flip Medina over and nearly
secure mount. Medina wriggles out of the submission and gets some
space, and Reese stands up and allows Medina to stand. Medina
slowly gets up as Miragliotta tells him to hurry, and he is quick
to eat two punches and a liver kick. Medina shakes his hand and
points at the ground to initiate a brawl, and he runs forward
throwing hands. Reese backpedals and gets off a few punches, and he
spins with a back fist and jumps with a knee as the horn sounds. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Reese Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Reese Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Reese

Reese rushes out of his corner ready to attack, and he starts with
a lunging right hand and a leg kick. This marks the longest fight
of his young career, and he is not totally spent, as he lashes out
with a jump knee and kicks Medina in the liver. Medina groans and
drops his hands, and Reese goes after him with another jumping knee
that misses. Reese hammers the side with a stern kick, and he
checks a leg kick. Reese reaches the target with a long left hand
and another vicious body kick, and he connects with two left hands
as Medina wags his finger at him. Reese does not slow down when
Medina plays, punching him in the face a few more times. Medina
throws back a single low kick, and Reese boots him twice to the
body. Medina offers a single jab and a leg kick, and Reese loops a
right hand around the guard. Medina circles away and gets booted in
the face, and he smiles and returns fire with a body shot. Medina
rushes forward and Reese slips away, and Reese is slowing to throw
one power strike rather than setting them up. He gets in another
body kick, and then one more thuds to the side, but Medina is right
in front of him throwing back. Medina shrugs at him when Reese
lands a strike, and Reese comes over the top with a question-mark
kick. Medina is as durable as they come, as he walks through a
spinning kick to the body so he can wind up with a right hand and a
left hook. Reese backs him away with a jab and step-in left hook,
and his leg kick makes Medina point at the ground again. Reese
kicks the same lead leg two more times as Medina does not like this
strike, but Medina steels himself and releases a few punches. Reese
counters and beats up the front leg, and Medina shrugs again, wings
a right hand and shoots in for a double. Medina pushes Reese
against the cage wall, and Reese separates with a second to spare
and whiffs on an elbow. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Reese Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Reese Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Reese

Medina raises both arms up to signal that he wants a hug, and Reese
reluctantly accepts it. They start fighting, and Reese kicks him in
the liver and pursues a takedown. Medina stops it and pushes him
away, but Reese meets him with another body kick. When a knee from
Reese nearly tags the Bolivian, “Chicho” motions to Reese and
shares a laugh with Miragliotta that he managed to avoid it. Reese
sprints forward and tackles Medina to the canvas, finding a few
spots to land power punches before Medina kicks him off. Reese
backs off and pushes forward to land another takedown, but Medina
is once more able to push Reese off of him. Medina stands up
without issue, and he gets belted in the face with a left hand and
walks Reese down to land three punches including a liver shot.
Medina connects with a left hand that hurts Reese, and Reese
retaliates with a slamming takedown that bums Medina out and
bloodies up his ear. Reese moves to half guard, and after taking a
few seconds to catch his breath, he opens up with right hands. The
Texan climbs to half guard on the other side to land strikes, and
Medina answers him with hacking elbows off his back. Medina sits
up, and Reese snatches up his neck and hunts for a one-arm
submission that nearly transitions into a brabo choke. Reese holds
on with a potential arm-triangle, and Medina complains that his
glove is getting grabbed. Reese slugs away from on top, and Medina
sits up to give his back up. Reese steps around to capitalize, but
Medina gets to his feet by crawling to the fence. Reese pursues a
single, and he deposits the Bolivian to the mat for a second.
Medina is not about to go out like this, standing up once more, and
he fights off a final takedown and slugs away until the fight
concludes. Medina might have lost clearly, but he had a blast every
step of the way. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Reese (30-27 Reese) Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Reese (30-27 Reese) Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Reese (30-27 Reese)

From one all-action fight to another we go, as dueling
middleweights with 100% finish rates put referee Dan Miragliotta on
notice. Marquez (9-4, 3-3 UFC) has not had his hand raised since
putting Sam Alvey away in 2021, while Reese (6-1, 0-1 UFC) was
unsuccessful in his promotional debut in December when Cody
Brundage slammed him through the cage floor. The judges may be able
to take this one off. The fighters clap hands, and Marquez reaches
out with jabs and a low kick. Reese chambers and fires off a body
kick, and Marquez backs away as that got him cleanly. The mulleted fighter chases and unloads a left hand and an uppercut
right on the button, and Marquez collapses to the canvas, already
done. To seal the deal, “Savage” clobbers the Missouri native with
a salvo of hammerfists, and Miragliotta calls a halt to the match
as the crowd goes wild. Marquez sits up and is a
little upset by the stoppage, but he understands why Miragliotta
had to get involved, as it was likely only to get worse from there.
After eight fights, Reese has still yet to reach the second round,
and this is easily his quickest stoppage to date.

Middleweights keep the line moving, as Brundage (9-5, 3-4 UFC)
faces a promotional newcomer in Reese (6-0, 0-0 UFC). Reese has
finished all six of his opponents inside one round, three of them
in less than a minute. Rexroad draws the officiating assignment.
Reese switches stances right out of the gate. Brundage connects
with a right hand over the top, slips throwing a kick and manages
to turn it into a takedown. Reese works briefly on a Frank Miresque
elbow crank, then hammers his opponent with an upkick. Brundage
drops into full guard with an elbow, then postures in a crouched
position. Reese makes a bid at a triangle choke. Brundage lifts him off the
canvas and slams him to the mat. Follow-up punches separate an
already-dazed Reese from his senses . Something must be
in the water tonight.

Zachary Reese

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