Maki Pitolo won’t pay any mind to Julian Marquez’s lengthy layoff ahead of their middleweight clash Saturday night.
The Hawaiian fighter is expecting the best version of Marquez to show up at UFC 258. The bout with Pitolo (13-7 MMA, 1-3 UFC) marks Marquez’s first fight since August 2018. Marquez hasn’t competed in 31 months due to injury, a cancelled bout after an opponent missed weight, and the pandemic.
Although Marquez hasn’t competed in a while, Pitolo refuses to factor his opponent’s inactivity into his game planning.
“I’ve been prepping for the best version of him,” Pitolo said. “I know he hasn’t fought in two years and that’s a big layoff and a big time to become a different fighter. I’m expecting the best version of him and I’ve been training for him so he can see the best version of myself.”
Pitolo is looking to bounce back from a two-fight losing streak. He believes he will get the job done against Marquez late in the fight.
“He’s a good fighter, (but) he’s a big boy, so I’m expecting him to have that good cardio blast in the first round and then become heavy-footed later on in the fight,” Pitolo said. “I got good cardio. I got good gas tank and I feel like that’s the most pressure on him.”
The 30-year-old is hoping to win and get three more fights in 2021. His goal for his career this year is quite simple.
“This year I look to find myself in the middleweight division, make a name for myself and get on a streak”
Maki Pitolo not expecting drop-off in Julian Marquez’s game despite layoff