Preview: UFC 258 ‘Usman vs. Burns’

COCONUT BOMBS @Coconut_Bombz ends it with devastating shots in R2! #UFC250 pic.twitter.com/8TCd2TYVHi

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) June 7, 2020

Middleweight

NR | Julian Marquez (7-2, 1-1 UFC) vs. NR | Maki Pitolo (13-7, 1-3 UFC)

ODDS: Marquez (-165), Pitolo (+145)

Pitolo has lived up to his reputation as an exciting fighter since making his way onto the UFC roster, but the Hawaiian badly needs to turn things around in terms of results. When Pitolo gets an offensive flow going, it is a pleasure to watch, as “Coconut Bombz” is a powerful combination puncher who can fall back on a solid wrestling base when needed. That should make for a successful recipe, but Pitolo’s UFC career has been a struggle thus far. First came an ill-advised cut to welterweight, where Pitolo tired out quickly and gave up a decision to unathletic grinder Callan Potter. Pitolo seemed to turn things around with a victory against Charles Byrd once he returned to 185 pounds, but his last two bouts have seen things go south due to a lack of defensive awareness. Darren Stewart caught him in a sudden guillotine choke, while Impa Kasanganay repeatedly plugged him for three rounds. Pitolo looks to get on track against Marquez, who took a different route to essentially wind up with what are the same concerns. “The Cuban Missile Crisis” does not have much regard for his opponent’s offense, but in Marquez’s case, it seems to be a feature rather than a bug, as he is willing to rely on some inhuman durability to charge through whatever his opponent has to offer in order to return fire. It is hard to say Marquez has one standout skill, but he is decent everywhere and his approach has broken some opponents in the past. He beat Phil Hawes to earn a UFC contract and won an absolute barnburner over Stewart to kick off his UFC career. Marquez does not have much momentum at the moment, however. Alessio Di Chirico mostly stifled his offense in a 2018 loss, and Marquez has not fought in the two and a half years since due to injury. Pitolo seems to be the harder hitter and at least has somewhat of a process, but his lapses in judgment tend to make for much more damaging moments. Marquez probably cannot take advantage of that on the feet—both men are quite durable—but he is also a decent enough submission artist, particularly for someone who tends to give up takedowns at will. There is always the worry that Marquez’s durability will fail him, especially against a hard puncher like Pitolo, but he might actually be the more reliable bet here. The pick is Marquez via second-round submission.

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