Former number one middleweight contender, Patrick Cote, has been released from the UFC following his unanimous decision loss to Tom Lawlor at UFC 121 on Oct. 23 in Anaheim, California.

"The Predator" dropped the unfortunate news via his official Twitter account earlier today.

Cote made his first appearance inside the cage after nearly 20 months on the sidelines to tangle with Alan Belcher at UFC 113 from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, back on May 1.

It did not end well.

The Canadian was submitted by "The Talent" after a controversial piledriver left him stiffer than a frozen mukluk. It was Cote's first bout since shredding his knee while inside the Octagon opposite reigning division champion Anderson Silva at UFC 90 way back in October 2008.

The "Spider" bout resulted in a technical knockout loss for the eight-year veteran, which he feels may have gone his way if the freak accident never happened.

Cote underwent major ACL knee surgery following his loss to Silva and then again in late summer 2009 to repair a damaged MCL (in the same knee).

The 185-pound class continued to see an influx of talented competitors in his absence, making his road back to the summit a long and difficult one. His loss to Lawlor marked his third straight inside the Octagon and the UFC had decided they'd seen enough.

The good news is there are still plenty of options for him to compete in promotions outside of Las Vegas and with his name recognition, don't be surprised to see him back in the cage sooner rather than later.

Strikeforce? MFC? Bellator?

Let's hear your take on this latest release.