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Canadian Patrick (The Predator) Cote earns title shot in the UFC |
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Written by Neil Davidson, THE CANADIAN PRESS
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Sunday, 06 July 2008 |
Patrick Cote is taken down by Ricardo Almeida during their UFC middleweight bout at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 5, 2008. Cote defeated Almeida by a split decision. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Laura Rauch
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LAS VEGAS - Canada could have two UFC champions by year's end.
Georges St. Pierre rules the 170-pound welterweight division. And Patrick (The Predator) Cote, GSP's friend and Montreal training partner, has been granted a crack at the 185-pound middleweight title - probably later this year.
Cote (14-4) earned that Saturday night by winning a split decision over Ricardo (Big Dog) Almeida in the co-main event of UFC 86 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
"He's getting a title shot," UFC president Dana White said.
Cote is expected to meet Anderson Silva for the title but there are some hoops for the champion - considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in mixed martial arts - to jump through first. Silva is taking on James (The Sandman) Irvin on July 19 in Las Vegas in a light-heavyweight bout. Then he is slated to defend his middleweight title, probably against Japan's Yushin Okami, at UFC 88 in Atlanta on Sept. 6.
The Cote fight is expected some two months after that.
GSP, meanwhile, has a title defence against Jon Fitch at UFC 87 in Minneapolis on Aug. 9
For the hard-hitting Cote, it could be a second shot at Silva. He lost to Travis Lutter, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and looked bad on the ground doing it in the November 2006 finale of Season 4 of "The Ultimate Fighter," missing out on a championship bout.
Cote had the last laugh on the grappler this time, albeit in a fight that was hardly the stuff of legend. But White acknowledged the style matchup made for a cautious fight with Almeida, another Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, looking to avoid Cote's heavy hands and Cote trying not to get snared by Almeida's submissions skills.
"I knew if I made a mistake in this fight, I will lose the fight for sure ... If you go on the ground with this guy, you're dead," said Cote. "He's one of the best guys in the world at jiu-jitsu."
And while there were some boos from the crowd, the fighters paid a price for the bout. Both of Cote's eyes were slightly blackened and Almeida's head was lumpy and swollen as they face the media after the fight.
Cote, who also heard his name chanted by the crowd, was riding high.
"It's a big win for me," said Cote, who served five years in the Canadian military including time in Bosnia. "This win will change my life."
Cote served in the Royal 22nd Regiment known as the Van Doos.
There was some drama outside the cage after the fight. Manager Stephane Patry said a UFC official - not White - had berated his fighter for the lacklustre bout. Patry said he promptly complained to UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta, who assured him Cote would be treated right.
"Obviously it wasn't the most exciting fight but Lorenzo's a good guy, he understands," Patry said.
Two judges scored the bout 29-28 for the Canadian while the third had it 29-28 for Almeida.
"It wasn't a great fight," Almeida admitted. "I felt I dominated the first round."
All three judges gave it to him. But two of them awarded Cote the second and all three gave the Canadian the third.
Out of character, Almeida landed some good shots in the opening round. Cote ended up absorbing punches on his back from a standing Almeida.
Almeida's glove split during the first round and the start of the second was delayed as it was taped shut.
"Something happened with me mentally right there or physically, or maybe both. I was just dead in the second round, just very very tired." he said.
Almeida (9-3) did seem to fade as the fight went on.
He tried to pull guard in the second round, managing one unsuccessful triangle choke attempt. Cote did not connect with many punches but did catch Almeida with a right to the chin as the bell rang. The tired Canadian came on slightly in a third round that drew boos.
Cote, 28, has now won his last five fights - four of those in the UFC. Patry said Cote may look to fight in advance of the title challenge because of the time gap between now and then.
Unbeaten outside of the UFC, Cote had some bad breaks in his early losses. In his UFC debut, at UFC 50 in October 2004, he was moved from the prelims to the main event at the last minute as a replacement opponent for Tito Ortiz. Cote lost a decision but won some respect for staggering Ortiz on.
"We were in a bad spot and the kid got thrown to the wolves. No doubt about it," White said in a 2006 interview.
Cote was winning against fellow Canadian Joe Doerksen at UFC 52 when he made a mistake and was choked out. He then lost a split decision to Chris Leben, a fight he believes he should have won.
As the scores were read out Saturday, Cote said he feared there might have been a repeat of the Leben scoring when it got to the third judge.
"Not again, not again," he recalled thinking. "It's my time, it's payback time."
Cote started his current UFC win streak with a dull decision over Scott Smith at UFC 67 in April 2007 - "That fight sucked," White said dismissively at the time. But Cote then turned heads by knocking out Kendall Grove and Drew McFedries.
"I can't do that all the time," he said of the KOs. "It (Almeida) was not this kind of fight."
Cote admitted to nerves before Saturday's high-profile fight but not the personal issues (acknowledged but not explained) and injury (knee) before the Grove and McFedries bouts.
The Brazilian-born Alameida, a disciple of Renzo Gracie, quit the sport in 2004 to focus on his family and jiu-jitsu school in Hamilton, N.J. At the time, he was riding a six-fight win streak in Japan - beating the likes of Nate Marquardt, Kazuo Misaki and Ryo Chonan along the way.
He returned in style at UFC 81 in February, needing just 68 seconds to lock a guillotine choke on an outmatched Rob Yundt, who was a late injury replacement for Alan (The Talent) Belcher.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 06 July 2008 )
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