It wasn't a successful homecoming for Patrick Cote at UFC 148, coming up on the wrong end of a unanimous decision to Cung Le at the Fourth of July weekend extravaganza, but, despite the loss, the "The Predator" will have another chance to shine inside the Octagon.
Cote will next face heavy-handed striker Alessio Sakara in his next outing on the FX portion of the highly-anticipated UFC 154 event in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on Nov. 17, 2012 which features a main event between welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and interim champ Carlos Condit.
Not one to shy away from a stand up battle, Cote knows he's in for a wild potential 15 minutes come fight night and he plans on touching the chin and putting the pressure on "Legionarius" in what is a do-or-die fight for both men.
From his conversation with UFC.com:
"I like this matchup. He's a righty and I fought six southpaws in the UFC but my style is way better when I fight an orthodox guy instead of a southpaw. He's a boxer, so he's going to probably stay on his feet with me. He's been stopped a couple of times in the UFC so maybe his chin is not his best weapon, but I can't count on that. I'm going to touch his chin for sure, but if he doesn't go down with the first power punch I give him I have to continue to put pressure on him and I think that is the key to this fight."
Sakara is currently on a two fight skid, losing two Brian Stann and Chris Weidman in his last two outings. One more loss could be devastating for the Italian-born fighter's career with Zuffa.
Cote, who is currently on his third tour with the promotion, isn't necessarily safe from the dreaded ax, either.
How about it Maniacs, who's your pick to prevail in this bout of struggling middleweights?
Cote or Sakara?