LAS VEGAS — Maki Pitolo is keen to show that he can hang at 185 pounds. Former welterweight campaigner Pitolo (13-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) punched his ticket to the UFC on “Dana White’s Contender Series” as a middleweight and said he has no intention of dropping back down to 170 pounds. He might be a smaller middleweight, but Pitolo is confident that he can find success in his new weight class, which started out with second-round finish over Charles Byrd at UFC 250. Pitolo faces Darren Stewart (11-5 MMA, 4-1 UFC) Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 32, where he’ll look to continue his momentum and send a message to the rest of the division. “I wanted a bigger guy, I wanted to have a serious opponent that will potentially wake up the middleweight division and let them know I mean business,” Pitolo told reporters at Thursday’s UFC on ESPN+ 32 virtual media day. “A lot of people are thinking I should bounce back and forth between welterweight and middleweight, but this is where I got my contract, this is where I mean business and this is where I want to be.” With all but two of his pro career wins coming by finish, “Coconut Bombz” is approaching this fight the same way he always does, with fight-ending intentions.
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UFC on ESPN+ 32′s Maki Pitolo plans to make a statement in his new weight class – MMA Junkie