MAKI PITOLO VS. DARREN STEWART
While most people tend to get all geeked out about the fights at the top of the card (for obvious reasons), tasty little middleweight pairings like this one nestled in the middle of Saturday’s event are the extra-crispy, crunchy fries that are extra enjoyable to me.
Pitolo earned his UFC contract with an impressive first-round stoppage win over Justin Sumter last summer on the Contender Series, then dropped down to welterweight and landed on the wrong side of a unanimous decision verdict in his debut. He moved back to middleweight for his sophomore appearance and showcased the hand speed and power that helped him punch his ticket to the Octagon in the first place, pounding out a second-round stoppage win over Charles Byrd at UFC 250.
While he measures out as being undersized for the 185-pound ranks, the advantages the five-foot-ten Hawaiian carries at middleweight were on full display in his victory over Byrd in June and it will be interesting to see if they hold up here against Stewart.
It honestly feels like decades ago that Stewart tearfully fell to his knees after collecting a second-round stoppage win over Eric Spicely to avoid a fourth straight loss, but it was only two years ago. “The Dentist” followed that win up with his own victory over Byrd, a split decision loss to Edmen Shahbazyan, and two more decision wins.
Earlier this year, Stewart’s scheduled fight for the UFC’s annual London event in March against Marvin Vettori was postponed, but he instead stepped into the cage against fellow cancellation victim Bartosz Fabiniski under the Cage Warriors banner, where his two-fight winning streak was snapped.
Stewart has proven himself to be a solid middle-tier middleweight at this point with designs on continuing to climb the divisional ladder, while Pitolo is an intriguing new addition still looking to carve out a place for himself. This pairing should help answer any lingering questions about the two and position the winner for a step up in competition next time out.
