Maki Ikaika Maleko PitoloMixed martial arts show results Date: July 9, 2019
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mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who competes in the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Pitolo has also competed for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

and

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

Background

Pitolo played football in high school, and started training mixed martial arts to stay in shape during the offseason. Eventually after seeing

Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar is a duo of fights starting in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 1 contest which received national acclaim, and was highly regarded among fans as one of the most exciting, greatest and memorable fights in the ...

, he decided to pursue a career in the sport. He has a little brother Alphonso, who is also a mixed martial artist.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In the beginning of his mixed martial arts career, Pitolo fought primarily in Hawaii regional scene. After racking up a record of 6–2, he fought five times for the Victory Fighting Championship where he amassed three straight wins before getting stopped in two consecutive fights. After the tenure in VFC, Pitolo faced Thiago Rela at CFFC 68 on October 21, 2017, winning the fight via first-minute knockout. He was expected to face Stephen Regman at CFFC 70 on March 24, 2018, but the bout was cancelled. Pitolo was scheduled to face Chibwikem Onyenegecha at Dana White's Contender Series 13 on July 17, 2018, but a shoulder injury forced him to withdraw from the bout and he was replaced by Anthony Adams.

Bellator

After the one-off bout in Cage Fury FC, Pitolo faced Chris Cisneros in a rematch at Bellator 213 on December 15, 2018. He won the fight via third-round submission.

DWCS and Ultimate Fighting Championship

After the lone bout in Bellator, Pitolo was once again invited to Dana White's Contender Series. Pitolo faced Justin Sumter at Dana White's Contender Series 19 on July 9, 2019. He won the fight via first round technical knockout and was awarded a UFC contract. As per Dana White's wish after the bout, Maki made his return to

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

in his UFC debut and faced

Callan Potter Callan Potter (born 6 September 1984) is an Australian retired mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts career Early career Potter compiled a pr ...

on 5 October 2019 at

UFC 243 ''UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 6, 2019, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Background The event was the ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Pitolo was scheduled to face

Takashi Sato is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional since 2013, he currently competes in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Early life Born to a Japanese father and Taiwanese mother, Sato ...

UFC Fight Night 168 ''UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 168'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 26'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 23, 2020, at Spark Arena in Auckland ...

on February 23, 2020. However, Pitolo was unable to make weight and the bout was scrapped from the card. Due to the botched weight cut preceding the previous fight, Pitolo returned to Middleweight division for his next fight against Charles Byrd at

UFC 250 ''UFC 250: Nunes vs. Spencer'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 6, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. I ...

on June 6, 2020. He won the bout via second round technical knockout, Pitolo faced

Darren Stewart Darren Erdley Stewart (born 30 December 1990) is an English mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2013, he competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Cage Warriors. Background Stewart was bo ...

on 8 August 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 174 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 174'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 32'' and ''UFC Vegas 6'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 8, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in En ...

. He lost in the first round via guillotine choke. Pitolo was tabbed for a quick turnaround and faced promotional newcomer

Impa Kasanganay Impa Armond Kasanganay (born January 17, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). He formerly competed in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions of Ultimat ...

on August 29, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Rakić. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Pitolo faced

Julian Marquez Julian Felipe Marquez (born May 8, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Marquez was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, a ...

on February 13, 2021 at

UFC 258 ''UFC 258: Usman vs. Burns'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 13, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United State ...

. He lost the bout via an anaconda choke in the third round. Pitolo was scheduled to face

Duško Todorović Duško Todorović (born May 19, 1994) is a Serbian mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Todorović started training taekwondo around the age of eight, continuing un ...

on June 5, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai. However, two weeks ahead of the bout, Pitolo had to pull out due to unknown reasons and was replaced by Gregory Rodrigues. The bout between Pitolo and Todorović was rescheduled on December 4, 2021 at

UFC on ESPN 31 ''UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 31'' and ''UFC Vegas 44'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 4, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevad ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round one. On January 12, 2022, it was announced that Pitolo was no longer on the UFC roster.

Post-UFC

Pitolo made his first appearance outside of the UFC at Tuff-N-Uff 127 on March 4, 2022, facing

Fernando Gonzalez Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Pitolo made his debut with

Eagle FC Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC), commonly referred to as Eagle FC, is a Russian mixed martial arts promotion company established in 2020 by former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. It was renamed to Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC ...

against Doug Usher on May 20, 2022 at Eagle FC 47. At weigh ins, Maki Pitolo and Doug Usher missed weight and the bout changed from Middleweight to Light Heavyweight. Pitolo weighed in at 187.4 pounds while Usher weighed in at 189 pounds. Pitolo won by knockout in the opening minute of the fight. Pitolo faced Daniel Compton on November 20, 2022 at Tuff-N-Uff 130 for the TUFF Middleweight Championship. He was submitted in the third round by the way of a kimura, after which Compton went into the crowd to confront Pitolo's fans. Pitolo faced Joel Bauman on September 8, 2023 at Gamebred Fighting Championship 5, losing the bout via second round head kick TKO.

Personal life

Maki and his wife Chasity have two children, Miya and Madyx.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 15–11 , Joel Bauman , TKO (head kicks and punches) , Gamebred Fighting Championship 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:36 ,

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

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Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Justin Michael Sumter , TKO (punches) , Dana White's Contender Series 19 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:37 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Chris Cisneros , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Bellator 213 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:40 ,

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , Thiago Rela , KO (punch) , Cage Fury FC 68 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:59 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–4 ,

Dakota Cochrane Dakota Galen Cochrane (born May 1, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who fights in the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions. He has competed for Bellator MMA, Resurrection Fighting Alliance, Legacy Fighting Championship, Titan Fightin ...

, Submission (guillotine choke) , Victory FC 58 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:58 ,

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3 , Kassius Kayne , KO (punch) , Victory FC 54 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:05 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Kassius Kayne , Decision (unanimous) , Victory FC 52 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Justin Guthrie , TKO (punches) , Victory FC 50 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:48 ,

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Andrews Nakahara , TKO (punches) , Victory FC 49 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:21 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Adam Smith , Submission (guillotine choke) , Destiny MMA: Na Koa 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:23 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Pono Pananganan , TKO (punches) , Ainofea Cage Fights , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:44 ,

Lihue, Hawaii Lihue or Līhue is an unincorporated community, census-designated place (CDP) and the county seat of Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. Lihue (pronounced ) is the second largest town on the Hawaiian island of Kauai after Kapaa. As of the 2010 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2 , Paul Norman , TKO (punches) , RWE: Just Scrap , , align=Center, 1 , align=center, 4:31 ,

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-largest settlement i ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–2 , Taki Uluilakepa , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Destiny MMA: Na Koa 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–2 , Coates Cobb-Adams , Decision (unanimous) , X–1: Jara vs. Vitale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–2 , C.J. Marsh , TKO (punches) , Destiny MMA: Na Koa 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Chris Cisneros , Submission (armbar) , Destiny MMA: Proving Grounds 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jason Camarillo , Decision (unanimous) , X–1: Mayhem at the Mansion 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Puhi, Hawaii Puhi (literally, "blow" in Hawaiian) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 3,380 at the 2020 census, up from 1,186 at the 2000 census. Geography Puhi is located on the southeastern side ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitolo, Maki American male mixed martial artists 1990 births Living people Welterweight mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists from Hawaii Sportspeople from Honolulu