Pitolo played football in high school, and started training mixed martial arts to stay in shape during the offseason.[3] Eventually after seeing Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar, he decided to pursue a career in the sport.[3] He has a little brother Alphonso, who is also a mixed martial artist.[4]
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
At 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.[5]
Bellator
After the one-off bout in Cage Fury FC, Pitolo faced Chris Cisneros in a rematch at Bellator 213 on December 15, 2018.[5] He won the fight via third-round submission.[5]
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.[5]
As per Dana White's wish after the bout, Maki made his return to welterweight in his UFC debut and faced Callan Potter on 5 October 2019 at UFC 243.[6][7] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[8]
Pitolo was scheduled to face Takashi Sato at UFC Fight Night 168 on February 23, 2020. However, Pitolo was unable to make weight and the bout was scrapped from the card.[9]
Due to the botched weight cut preceding the previous fight, Pitolo returned to the Middleweight division for his next fight against Charles Byrd at UFC 250 on June 6, 2020.[10][11] He won the bout via second round technical knockout,[12]
The bout between Pitolo and Todorović was rescheduled for December 4, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 31.[22] He lost the fight via technical knockout in round one.[23]
On January 12, 2022, it was announced that Pitolo was no longer on the UFC roster.[24]
Post-UFC
Pitolo made his first appearance outside of the UFC at Tuff-N-Uff 127 on March 4, 2022, facing Fernando Gonzalez. He won the bout via unanimous decision.[25]
Pitolo made his debut with Eagle FC 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.[26] Pitolo won by knockout in the opening minute of the fight.[27]
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.[28]
Pitolo faced Joel Bauman on September 8, 2023, at Gamebred Fighting Championship 5, losing the bout via second round head kick TKO.[29]
Personal life
Maki and his wife Chasity have two children, Miya and Madyx.[3]
