Athletes
Zachary Reese | Home Comforts
Zachary Reese Is Happy To Be Fighting On Home Soil In Houston And Plans On A Return To His Quickfire Finishing Ways.
Zachary Reese is excited to be fighting back in his home state once again and says he's ready to deliver a crowd-pleasing performance when he takes on Michel Pereira at UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs Hernandez in Houston, Texas.
A native of Shiner, Texas, Reese is pumped to be competing so close to home in a fight that, on paper, looks set to deliver action and excitement in equal measure.
"I'm feeling amazing, man," he told UFC.com. "Fighting in my home city, the city I was born in, you know? I trained in Houston, so, yeah, it's something, something I dreamed about since I was a kid.
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"Houston's such a sports town, man. I grew up watching the Astros and, yeah, to be able to go out there and fight at Toyota Center, where the Rockets play – it's surreal, man. It's awesome."
Zach Reese Submits McVey | UFC Fight Night: Bonfim vs Brown
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Zach Reese Submits McVey | UFC Fight Night: Bonfim vs Brown
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With Houston just a 2-hour blast down Highway 90 from Shiner, Reese is expecting a strong turnout from his friends and family although he admitted he had to turn back ticket requests after his allocation was quickly maxed out.
"I'm not sure on the head count, man, but I've had about 80 people ask me if they can get a ticket, so I have to tell them, 'Guys, I don't get that many tickets!' But yeah, it should be a packed house. I got a lot of friends, a lot of family coming, a lot of teammates."
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Being able to fight at home may offer its benefits – he said he'd be home pretty quickly after his fight without the need to jump on a flight – but he said that he treats the fights themselves exactly the same regardless of the location. And on Saturday night, he faces the dangerous and unpredictable Michel Pereira in a middleweight matchup.
Pereira's infamously wild fighting style makes him tricky to prepare for, but Reese has already had the benefit of sparring a few rounds with the Brazilian while training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.
"I trained with Michel a little bit. We sparred and grappled, so I have that look," he explained. "I've never fought anybody that I've trained with before, so it's interesting the information I think we're both going to take from that. But yeah, I'm just glad it's not a backflip competition, because I would lose."
Reese has built a good connection with Xtreme Couture, including training alongside former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, who coincidentally features in Saturday night's headliner. But with Pereira based at the Vegas gym for his preparations, Reese felt it was more appropriate that he spend the majority of his camp back home.
"I was there (at Xtreme Couture) when I took the fight, actually, and then talked to Sean about it and stuff. And they were basically like, 'It's an open-door policy. Both you guys (Reese and Pereira) can train here.' And initially I was like, yeah, but I decided it would probably be best, probably most intelligent, to come back home to prepare for the fight."
Strickland may court controversy at times, but as far as Reese is concerned, there aren't too many better teammates to have, with Reese even going as far as to call him the best training partner he's ever had. The reason why? His selflessness.
"What makes Sean such a great training partner is he actually will try to make everyone better in the room," he explained. "When you train with people you maybe don't know, or you might fight, potentially, some guys don't really try to raise the tide of the room. And I think Sean is a really great teammate and a great leader in that way."
This time, though, Reese had to put his Xtreme Couture links to one side as he prepared to face Pereira at his main gym, WAR Training Center in Tomball, just north of central Houston.
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After seven fights in the Octagon, Reese said he's finally starting to feel at home. And, after learning what it takes to not just get to the UFC, but stay there, he's ready to return to the fight-finishing form that put him on the UFC's radar back in 2023.
"It feels like I was always learning on the job," he admitted. "I've had more UFC fights than not in the UFC, and all those other fights were first-round finishes. This will be my eighth UFC fight, so I'm just feeling that I'm getting those land legs, so to speak, you know? But yeah, I feel at home, and I'm working on finding that mindset again to get back to those first round finishes."
Last time out saw Reese back in finishing form as he submitted Jackson McVey via second-round rear-naked choke at the Meta APEX last August. Prior to that victory, he had a frustrating, but encouraging night at the office, when his bout with Sedriques Dumas at Noche UFC in San Antonio was halted after 51 seconds and ruled a no-contest.
Delivering excitement and finishes is what Reese is all about, and he plans on serving up a good portion of both on Saturday night when he faces Pereira at Toyota Center. When we asked him how he planned to get the job done in Houston, he said his pinpoint striking would be the difference-maker. But if the fight does turn into a knock-down, drag-out war, he's ready for that, too.
"Just by sniping," he said. "Sniping, being patient, methodical, picking my shots. Or maybe it's a wild, Waffle House fight, I don't know. So, either way."
UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs Hernandez took place live from Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on February 21, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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