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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran Patrick Cote will try to demand his respect later tonight (Sat., June 18, 2016) at UFC Fight Night 89 live on FOX Sports 1 from the TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Canda, when he takes on former Lightweight title challenger Donald Cerrone.
Cote, who has racked off a 5-1 divisional record since dropping down from Middleweight in 2013, will have his work cut out for him as he tries to ward off the slicker and more versatile "Cowboy." But with heavy hands and high-level boxing to fuel his efforts, "The Predator" believes he will be able to pressure Cerrone into defeat in front of his home country of Canada.
"He has a very high IQ about fighting, but every time he's under pressure he crumbles," said Cote in a recent interview with FOX Sports. "Every time he has a lot of pressure, he's going back, straight, he's going back, doesn't move his head, so you have to put pressure right away. You have to break him right away."
That game plan could work considering Cerrone was overwhelmed in his last 155-pound bout opposite current champion Rafael dos Anjos. While Cote and RDA are two completely different fighters, the recipe to throw "Cowboy" off his horse remains the same.
"If you let him control the pace the fight, that's where he's very, very dangerous," added Cote. "Every minute of the fight that passes, he's getting better and better. So that's the thing about Cerrone. You don't want to give him control of the pace of the fight."
If Cote is able to defeat Cerrone, he'll be lining himself up for some high-profile fights entering the second half of 2016.
UFC Fight Night 89 will be headlined by another scintillating Welterweight bout between title hopefuls Rory MacDonald and Stephen Thompson.