Preview: UFC on ESPN 57 ‘Cannonier vs. Imavov’

Middleweights

Julian Marquez (9-4, 3-3 UFC) vs. Zachary Reese (6-1, 0-1 UFC)

ODDS: Marquez (-130), Reese (+110)

Marquez returns after a 15-month layoff, and it does seem like “The Cuban Missile Crisis” is at a bit of a crossroads. A 2017 alum of the Contender Series, Marquez quickly carved out a niche as an entertaining brawler after an all-action debut win against Darren Stewart. A subsequent loss to Alessio Di Chirico showed that Marquez’s game might not be the technically deepest, but he figured to stick around as a fan favorite willing to lean on his durability and go to war. A major injury after the loss to Di Chirico kept Marquez out of action for over two years, but he looked much the same upon his return. Things could get a bit meandering depending on the opponent, but Marquez would eventually find his way to a finish. However, Marquez’s last two fights—each with decently sized layoffs beforehand—have raised some concerns about his direction going forward. Marquez was able to show flashes of his old brawling self against Gregory Rodrigues and Marc-Andre Barriault, but he does seem to be trying to fight with a technical and patient approach that hasn’t quite taken. Worse, while Marquez still has a strong chin, it’s finally starting to show some cracks after a hard-fought career. That’s enough to lend some intrigue to this fight against Reese, who’s looking to rebound from an unsuccessful UFC debut. Reese was clearly a flier when the UFC picked him up off the Contender Series in 2023. He’s massive for the division and racked up a string of first-round finishes, but his combination of aggression and a lack of defense figured to walk him right into a knockout against better competition. That’s indeed what happened in his UFC debut against Cody Brundage in December, but not in the expected manner. Reese wound up hunting for submissions and got knocked out with a slam rather than getting shelled on the feet. Reese will probably succeed in catching the Factory X product off-guard early, but Marquez still seems to have the durability left to eat a few big shots, and he should be able to land something huge in return before his counterpart can pour on enough attritional damage to win. This should be quick and violent. The pick is Marquez via first-round knockout.

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Cannonier vs. Imavov
Jacoby vs. Reyes
Rosas Jr. vs. Turcios
Ferreira vs. Stoltzfus
Marquez vs. Reese
Baeza vs. Soriano
The Prelims