Zach Reese

He frames the pick as the more likely outcome rather than a firm one, leaves a described path for the opponent to control the fight on top, and signs off with a resigned, reluctant endorsement.

A tall, rangy, power-punching striker with a credible grappling game, undercut by poor range management and a habit of fighting off his back.

He admits he has no real read on this matchup, calls it roughly a coin toss, and tells viewers to just chase the better betting number.

Judged the more gifted fighter here on raw tools: a genuinely strong striker with real power who blends his hands and kicks smoothly, including a nasty shot to the body, though he struggles badly to manage distance for someone built the way he is -- a gap the analyst finds frustrating given everything else he can do. His ground game features powerful slams, heavy top damage, and a dangerous submission arsenal, undercut by an odd comfort with letting fights go to his own back. The overall read is a player whose instincts lag behind his physical gifts.

says outright he's struggling with this pick and feels like he's missing information

Our paraphrase: a good, powerful striker who puts punches and kicks together well, with both his front kick and roundhouse to the body singled out as excellent, but range control is called a real problem for a man his size -- something the analyst says would help him a great deal if he ever fixed it. His grappling brings powerful slams and heavy ground-and-pound, and he does hunt submissions, but his willingness to work from his own back is flagged as a recurring issue that has previously gotten him slammed while reaching for a finish. Momentum is credited to him coming in, built on wins the analyst feels haven't been that impressive given the level of opposition.

Picks Reese clearly but repeatedly questions Reese's fight-IQ/decision-making as a live risk and is nervous about the size of the betting number -- a reasoned pick surrounded by real hedges.

A good, powerful striker who combines punches and kicks well, with the body kick as his best weapon; also a good grappler with powerful slams and heavy ground and pound. A historically fast starter whose decision-making is repeatedly questioned, though the analyst now notes he has been able to go the distance rather than only winning early.

No hedge anywhere in Reese's half of the breakdown. He makes a specific, unwalked-back prediction of a first-round finish and closes by stating plainly that he is taking Reese to get it done. The weaknesses he names are entirely on the opponent's side (durability, takedown defense), with nothing conceding a route back for Todorovic.

Zach Reese is a good, powerful striker who the analyst points to a one-punch knockout (under the newer gloves many said made finishes harder) as proof of his power, and who mixes punches and kicks together well. In the grappling he is a powerful slammer with heavy ground-and-pound and active submission attacks, though the analyst dislikes how willing he is to work from guard. He is typically a fast starter whose wins tend to come early, and the analyst expects that pattern to continue here.

Tells viewers he'd personally avoid betting this one given how many unknowns surround a short-notice assignment, yet still commits to a side by decision while flagging that the other man could just as easily finish things early -- a named pick undercut by real staking caution and a live alternate outcome, which caps it at coinflip.

A strong, heavy-handed striker who blends punches and kicks into the same sequence rather than keeping them separate; comes out of the gate quickly and has closed out a large share of his wins inside round one, though the analyst notes that pattern won't hold forever. Also a strong finisher on the mat, with forceful takedowns, heavy ground work, and a habit of hunting submissions.

Plain, unhedged commitment: he says Reese 'should win' comfortably and states flatly 'we're taking Zach' -- reasoned on power, wrestling and finishing ability against a durable but outmatched opponent.

A 7-1 middleweight he calls a very fast starter and a good striker who mixes punches and kicks extremely well, with real power he says 'can hit like a truck.' His wrestling is just as strong -- good, with powerful slams, heavy ground-and-pound and a live submission threat off his back or on top. He expects an early finish, saying plainly he wants to get the fight done in round one.

He names Reese as the pick but immediately follows it with the root-beer idiom and an instruction to pass on the fight -- the idiom plus an explicit instruction to pass on the fight is the coinflip shape. He also states outright that there isn't enough information to go on, genuine outcome doubt layered on top of the betting caution.

Analyst's pick, 4-1 in his last five. A significantly bigger man (6'4"/77" reach vs Marquez's 6'2"/72") with striking the analyst likes, real power, and a mixed striking arsenal, plus good grappling (powerful slams, good submission attacks, heavy ground-and-pound). Named explicitly as a fast starter; almost nothing is known about him past the first round because his entire pro career has ended there.

Pick stated plainly and repeated ("Zach Reese all day"), backed by a specific mechanism -- his power/wrestling against Brundage's striking defense and tendency to end up stuck on his back -- with no hedge on the win itself, only a method qualifier ("probably by knockout").

Zach Reese is read as a serious power puncher who finishes fights quickly and early, with heavy combinations across punches, kicks, knees and elbows. His wrestling is also credited as pretty good, with powerful slams and heavy ground-and-pound. The analyst has limited tape on him given his short UFC-debut career but likes what he has seen.