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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Farah Hannoun

Zach Reese hopes fans resonate with his style after UFC on ESPN 57 knockout: ‘I’ll never be a boring fighter’

Zach Reese vows to never be in a boring fight.

Reese (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) picked up his first octagon win when he knocked out Julian Marquez (9-5 MMA, 3-5 UFC) in just 20 seconds this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN 57 from KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.

All six of Reese’s wins have come in Round 1, and the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate looks forward to thrilling fans with more furious finishes.

“I hope the fans will resonate with my style because I grew up a fan and I hate boring fighters,” Reese told UFC News. “I’ll never be a boring fighter. I’ll die before I’m in a boring fight. My plan was to be a little more patient with Julian, kind of draw him out, getting him eating on my feints and then crack the sh*t out of him, and that’s what happened.”

Reese was on the wrong end of a highlight reel in his UFC debut when he was knocked out courtesy of a Cody Brundage slam in December. The 30-year-old was happy to rebound and show the true version of himself against Marquez.

“I’m not making excuses for my debut. That last month of my camp, I got injured and I wasn’t able to train for the entirety of the last month of the camp,” Reese said. “I still took the fight thinking I could win based on my skills, and I didn’t. So it meant a ton to come in here and show what a healthy Zach Reese can do.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 57.

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