Julian Marquez will attempt to make his long-awaited return at the third time of asking.
Marquez (7-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is set to take on Maki Pitolo (13-7 MMA, 1-3 UFC) at UFC 258 on Feb. 13. The event currently doesn’t have an officially confirmed location or venue.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the booking Friday but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Marquez was initially scheduled to return on Aug. 29 against Saparbek Safarov, but the matchup was moved to UFC Fight Night 182 on Nov. 14 due to undisclosed reasons. However, the matchup was scrapped just one day before fight night, with Safarov forced to withdraw due to weight cut issues.
Marquez hasn’t competed since suffering a fully torn latissimus dorsi during his split-decision loss to Alessio Di Chirico at the TUF 27 Finale in July, 2018. The injury resulted in Marquez undergoing two separate surgeries that forced him out of action for an extended period.
A fellow graduate of “Dana White’s Contender Series,” Pitolo will look to rebound from back-to-back losses to Darren Stewart and Impa Kasanganay. Prior to that, he picked up a second-round finish of Charles Byrd at UFC 250 in June.
With the addition, the UFC 258 lineup includes:
- Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman
- Macy Barber vs. Alexa Grasso
- Gabs Green vs. Phil Rowe
- Julian Marquez vs. Maki Pitolo
