Cote Looks to Continue Winning Ways
By Andy Cotterill (acotterill@sherdog.com)
Patrick Cote (Pictures) looks to make it four wins in a row when he faces Andrew McFedries Wednesday in Las Vegas.
His next three UFC bouts also saw him falter, the last of which was against Travis Lutter (Pictures) at "The Ultimate Fighter 4" finale. After the Lutter loss, Cote received what was quite possibly his final shot and made the most of it by defeating Scott Smith for his first win in the Octagon. A second win soon followed in the form of a TKO of Kendall Grove (Pictures).
Now Cote is set to meet McFedries in a featured fight on SpikeTV at UFC Fight Night 12, and he's looking forward to a slugfest.
"I think we have both the same style," Cote said. "We like to stay on our feet and bang with each other. I think we will have a lot of fireworks in this fight. It will be a very crazy fight for the fans and for the UFC. Don't blink because this fight can be quick. I expect a very, very good fight and a very entertaining fight."
That explosive prediction will likely come to fruition, as McFedries' sentiments on the bout mirror Cote's.
"I love the matchup," McFedries said. "I think he's willing to do what I want to do. Like [Cote] said, don't blink. We're gonna both come out … I want to get it done with. Period."
To prepare for this clash, Cote has continued the training regimen that he attributes to his success. When in Montreal he trains at BTT Canada with coach Fabio Holanda (Pictures) and teammate Georges St. Pierre (Pictures). Recently he has also started making the trek to Mark DellaGrotte's Boston-based Sityodtong club to train with the likes of Kenny Florian (Pictures), Jorge Rivera (Pictures) and Marcus Davis (Pictures). Cote has called his time there the best training camp he has had in his life.
Considering that he's one of Canada's most internationally recognized mixed martial artists, there has been speculation that Cote will be featured on the UFC's debut card in Montreal on April 19. Though he'd love for that to happen, he's not looking too far ahead.
"I'll be ready for sure, but one fight at a time," Cote said. "I don't want to look forward too far -- I have a job to do this week. If I'm on the card, I'm on the card. If I'm not, I'm not. I don't have control with that. The only thing I can control right now is to win Wednesday."
Freedom Fight 2008
This weekend Freedom Fight holds its first card of 2008, and the lineup looks like a great one for the Robert Guertin Arena in Hull, Quebec.
In the main event, Craig "Farmer" Brown will take on the "Loudmouth Assassin," Marcus Hicks, at light heavyweight. The semi-main event is a welterweight clash between Stephan Lamarche and Daniel Grandmaison (Pictures).
Full Card: Craig Brown (Pictures) vs. Marcus Hicks
Stephan Lamarche vs. Daniel Grandmaison (Pictures)
Greg Compton (Pictures) vs. Shaun Krysa (Pictures)
Mark Holst (Pictures) vs. Derek Giroux
Jason Bissonnette vs. Steve Hazelton
Markhaille Wedderburn vs. Joel Davis
Eric Muir vs. Rob Tracey
Barry McDonald vs. Mike Walton
Sidi Bouzrari vs. Ilya Woronowski
Ian Dawe vs. Todd Wood (Pictures)
Andre Major Desrochiers vs. Michel Aubin
Rick Bawden vs. Clint Martin
UFC Montreal Update
The first UFC event in Canada is quickly approaching its April 19 date. No bouts have been officially announced, but there are quite a few that have been revealed by fighters and other sources. The UFC is expected to announce an official card at a news conference in Montreal on Feb. 4.
Rumored Card:
Matt Serra (Pictures) vs. Georges St. Pierre (Pictures)
Evan Tanner (Pictures) vs. Yushin Okami (Pictures)
Mark Bocek (Pictures) vs. Mac Danzig (Pictures)
Jason MacDonald (Pictures) vs. Joe Doerksen (Pictures)
Sam Stout (Pictures) vs. Rich Clementi (Pictures)
Jonathan Goulet (Pictures) vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Pictures)
Patrick Cote (Pictures) vs. TBA
Mauricio Rua (Pictures) vs. TBA
In next week's column, MM-Eh! will be posting a list of Canadian fighters whom we think would make a great addition to the April event. We encourage fans to send their ideas to acotterill@sherdog.com.
Tell us who should get a shot at the big show and why, and also send in your thoughts on who would make good opponents.
MacDonald on Doerksen Rematch
Red Deer, Alberta's Jason MacDonald (Pictures) keeps a great blog at www.sportsnet.ca, and he recently revealed his thoughts about his upcoming match against Winnipeg's Joe Doerksen (Pictures). The two had previously fought in 2005, with MacDonald garnering the victory by rear-naked choke late in the fourth round:
"I signed my contract for UFC 84 in Canada on Wednesday night so I can officially say I'm fighting my fellow Canadian Joe Doerksen (Pictures) on April 19.
I have no idea where this matchup came from. This is certainly nothing I asked for, having beaten him before in 2005. Usually when you have a fight in your career and you beat someone -- unless it's a controversial one or one that was left in the hands of the judges -- you move on.
I would rather have been matched up with one of the new guys that has come into the division in the UFC. Evan Tanner (Pictures), Michael Bisping (Pictures), Ricardo Almeida (Pictures), I would have loved to face one of these new guys that I think I match up well against, rather than someone I've already faced.
But it's not my job to pick my fights and decide who I face. If the UFC decided this matchup is best for their business and for my career, then so be it. I'm under contract with them. If that's what they want for Canadian fans to see, I'm fine with that and I'm definitely happy to be involved in what will certainly be a historic event, the first UFC event in Canada.
I'm sure he's happy with the opportunity to erase a loss from his record, but I'll do everything in my power to prevent that. My initial thoughts on the matchup are that I've really improved my ground game, which is his strength, since our last meeting and I choked him out then. So what I've improved on works in my favour.
I kind of look at this like my fight against Rory Singer (Pictures) last year. I'm coming off a loss against a top fighter, and this is an opportunity to get right back in the mix of things like I did against Singer."
KOTC Canada Adds Weight Class
King of the Cage Canada announced that it is adding a cruiserweight class. The traditional heavyweight range of 206 to 265 pounds will be divided in half, with cruiserweight being from 206 to 235 and heavyweight ranging from 236 to 265.