UFC 258 results: Julian Marquez stages comeback victory to submit Maki Pitolo after 31 months away
Marquez #Marquez
More than two years away didn’t stop Julian Marquez from looking better than ever in his return at UFC 258.
The always energetic middleweight had to survive a rough start to the fight but eventually Marquez stormed back to punish Maki Pitolo on the feet and then grab an anaconda choke with less than a minute remaining in the final round to get the submission win.
The end came at 4:17 into the third round.
“I felt a little flat,” Marquez admitted following his win after a 31-month layoff. “I still came back and got the win. I was sitting there like I have to get a finish. I came here to get the victory and that’s what I did.”
Knowing he was taking on an opponent who had been out of action for such a long time, Pitolo came out of the gate guns blazing while throwing heavy shots on the feet and then dragging Marquez to the ground. Pitolo was relentless applying pressure, making Marquez work to stay off his back or defending takedowns against the cage.
While it was a tough start, Marquez endured the heavy pressure from Pitolo and then came back with fire in his fists as the second round got underway. Unfortunately, Marquez couldn’t keep Pitolo away from eventually swimming back inside to once again bring him crashing down to the canvas.
The more time Marquez spent on his back, he felt the fight slipping away but an impassioned plea from his head coach James Krause had the Contender Series veteran throwing everything left in his arsenal in an attempt to earn the finish.
Marquez was dropping bombs on the feet and despite his best attempts, Pitolo could not stave off the damage he was sustaining with each passing minute. Finally as Marquez continued to deliver a barrage of strikes that including a devastating knee right up the middle, he took Pitolo down to the ground and wrapped up the submission.
A few seconds later, Pitolo was forced to tap out as Marquez celebrated the victory — his first in the UFC since his debut in 2017.
Afterwards, rather than calling out another middleweight for his next fight, Marquez decided to send a Valentine’s shout out to the artist who provided his walkout song at UFC 258.
“Miley Cyrus, will you be my Valentine?” Marquez shouted.