Zak Cummings was born in Irving, Texas, which used to serve as the home for the Dallas Cowboys.
But like the Cowboys, Cummings now plants himself in a new part of the U.S. in Kansas City with Glory MMA & Fitness.
The 33-year-old veteran returns to action this Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 129, taking on Michel Prazeres in the FOX Sports 2 prelim main event.
Our Throwback Thursday picture collage is of Zak Cummings! Zak was a state qualifying wrestler in 2002 here at Glendale. Zak participated on the Ultimate Fighter show and is a current fighter in the UFC. @ZakCummings @FalconsGlendale @FalconFlock @scoreboardguy @OzarksOzone pic.twitter.com/zhkVC72QBX
— Glendale Wrestling (@CoachDonnell) May 17, 2018
For Cummings, the bout is a key one in his quest to continue climbing the UFC’s welterweight ladder.
After winning six of seven between 2012-early 2016, Cummings was paired up with Santiago Ponzinibbio. He suffered a decision loss, but quickly rebounded a few months later with a submission over Alexander Yakovlev.
In 2017, Cummings locked up another submission, this time choking out Nathan Coy for his 21st career win. Of those victories, 10 have been via submission, including a bonus vs. Ben Alloway back in 2013 in his debut with the promotion.
Overall, Cummings is 6-2 with the UFC, including three submissions and a TKO vs. Dominique Steele in 2015.
In Prazeres, he’ll be facing another submission expert who is riding a six-fight win streak into battle. The 36-year-old is 24-2 overall, including 10 submissions to his credit.
Both Cummings and Prazeres have a few fighters to climb before they reach the Top-15 in the division, but the winner Saturday night definitely will be one step closer to that list.