Patrick Cote (12-4) and Ricardo Almeida (9-2) are penciled in to hook ‘em up in a middleweight tilt at UFC 86 on Saturday, July 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to FightNetwork.com.
“The Predator” has won his last three bouts after dropping his first four contests with the promotion. He’s looked impressive in his last two outings, taking out Drew McFedries and Kendall Grove with strikes.
However, Cote will be fortunate if he can keep this fight upright. That’s because Almeida is a very talented Brazilian jiu-jitsu player under Renzo Gracie.
Almeida, in fact, returned to competition for the first time in almost four years to submit Rob Yundt with a guillotine choke just minutes into their scrap at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” back in February.
It definitely has to be a concern for the Canadian — he has lost via submission to Travis Lutter and Joe Doerksen in the past.
Here’s what he had to say:
“I’m a purple belt in jiu-jitsu, but I’m close to having my brown belt. I’ve worked a lot on my wrestling and my jiu-jitsu the last two years, so I’m ready to roll with anybody. I can’t wait to show my skills on the ground.”
Nice idea, Patrick. But I think there’s a time and place for everything … not so sure if the timing is right to show your skills against a guy like “Cachorrao.”
Either way this is a nice match up that will be televised on the pay-per-view (PPV) portion of the card, and it will more than likely have contender-type implications going forward in the 185-pound category.
39 Comments »
Cote’s really been looking good in his last couple of fights.
Try 185-pound category.
This is a bad match up for patrick, if he cant knock him out early ricardo will probly submit him.
I can’t believe this video hasn’t been posted on here yet. Absolutely hilarious
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXSsRAa7msg
[quote comment=”386766″]I can’t believe this video hasn’t been posted on here yet. Absolutely hilarious
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXSsRAa7msg/quote
Oh wow. lol
Cote is a purple belt! awesome.. wait, i just threw up in my mouth.
This will be a great fight. i am really liking Cote at the moment, really going after the wins.
Ricardo’s last opponent was relatively unknown to the main stream, but he was awesome in victory over him. I think that given Cote’s last two fights a victory over the Predator will let people know if Almeida is going to be on his way to challenging Silva. If he looks as impressive against Cote I would say that he may be the next in line after Silva beats Okami. Thats if Silva doesn’t decide to become a boxer. lol. I’m not going to pretend that I know alot about Almeida, but from this novices perspective, if a purple belt thinks he can take on a BJJ expert on the ground he is sadly mistaken.
This would be a real tough matchup for Cote, but as a fan of his, you know he needs a real test to move up the ranks.. can’t wait for it if it happens
Cote does indeed train with KenFlo and Mark Del on occassion, but that is not enough.
Travis Lutter submitted him in what, 1 minute? Ricardo is a better submission artist compared to Lutter.
He needs to just rush Almeida and keep throwing bombs because if he lets up the pressure, he’s going to find himself submitted. It’s nice he has been improving his ground game, but I’m not sure if he wants to try it out with this guy.
Almeida via Triangle Choke, Round One. Purple Belt…. guess he doesn’t realize what a BJJ Black Belt with stripes means.
If cote can keep it standing and land some hard shots early he may take it. Otherwise he is going to end up locked up and tapping very quickly. Especially if he gets cocky and decides it is ok to challenge on the ground. Great to learn and be confident but you DO NOT want to try your new found skills with someone like Almeida.
Really like this fight.
I think most of you guys have the wrong impression of Cote. One fight where he went toe to toe with mcfeddries doesnt make him a wild puncher that is one demesional. Cote works with one of the top camps (Del Grato) in MMA and has a really diverse game.
Almedia has a lot of talent too, and a bit better luck then Cote.
Jesse, You know Almedia trains in Hamilton right? Should poke around and see if you can get an interview.
[quote comment=”387195″]Almeida via Triangle Choke, Round One. Purple Belt…. guess he doesn’t realize what a BJJ Black Belt with stripes means.[/quote]
This is a horrible fight for Cote! What the hell is his managemnet thinking? He is on a nice little streak, why have him face the toughest possible opponent stylistically in the diviion?
I like Cote, but this is a dumb move…..No way he can get past Almeida. Cote cant be serious about wanting to test his ground skills in this fight… Terrible move by Cote’s management.
There are like 10 middleweights in the UFC all floating around the same level, so he really didnt need to fight Almeida…This is really dumb.
Almeida 1st Round submission, after that Cote’s management team has to be FIRED!!!
[quote comment=”387210″]This is a horrible fight for Cote! What the hell is his managemnet thinking? He is on a nice little streak, why have him face the toughest possible opponent stylistically in the diviion?
I like Cote, but this is a dumb move…..No way he can get past Almeida. Cote cant be serious about wanting to test his ground skills in this fight… Terrible move by Cote’s management.
There are like 10 middleweights in the UFC all floating around the same level, so he really didnt need to fight Almeida…This is really dumb.
Almeida 1st Round submission, after that Cote’s management team has to be FIRED!!![/quote]Rofl, what the hell does his management team have to do with it? You think he got to pick who he wanted to fight?
How the hell do MMA fans develope such deep opinions on fighters when they dont know their backround from their last 2-3 fight? NM, we on the interweb…
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Shitty matchup IMO. I don’t understand why they love putting strong JJ guys against strikers. Why not put the JJ guys against each other. Why not Lutter or Leites against Almeida and Cote against Franklin or Leben?
That would make for much more exciting fights. Considering these guys are all trying to get a title shot, why not have the JJ guy fighting the striker if they are the last two left in the division, instead of throwing them against each other right away. It has been pretty obvious throughout his career that submissions are Cote’s weakness. He looks good and knocks a few guys out and what do they do? Throw him against an amazing BJJ artist in Almeida. Stupid matchmaking if you ask me.
I agree with those who say Cote needs to wear out Almeida. Otherwise, Almeida can catch people like lightening. And let’s not forget that Almeida is a decent striker with nasty leg kicks. Or at least he was, and I’m sure he still is.
this sucks, i think Cote’s little streak will come to an end
Do Cote and GSP use the same modeling agency?
good fight for the main card
The role of a fighters management is to get you in the right fights. This is not the ideal fight for Cote.
I don’t see the point of pussyfooting around your weaknesses. Your not going to fool anybody, especially yourself. Either you can stand the heat or you can’t. It’s not going to do a fighter any good to just take fights that work to his strengths and then get his assed kicked as soon as he fights a well rounded fighter. I never saw the point of a tune up fight either. What confidence can be gained by going BACKWARDS and fighting a can, especially if you lose by chance? That’s what I like about GSP, he loses and he asks to fight the toughest opponent for him (Kos). Cote ran through his last to fights. Time for a step up in the competition. I got Cote by KO.
I agree that this isn’t the best matchup for Cote. Almeida was very impressive his last fight. If he shows the same in the next fight, Cote is in trouble. It will be interesting to see. I have been excited to see Almeida fight.
[quote post=”5481″]Ricardo’s last opponent was relatively unknown to the main stream, but he was awesome in victory over him. I think that given Cote’s last two fights a victory over the Predator will let people know if Almeida is going to be on his way to challenging Silva. If he looks as impressive against Cote I would say that he may be the next in line after Silva beats Okami. Thats if Silva doesn’t decide to become a boxer. lol. I’m not going to pretend that I know alot about Almeida, but from this novices perspective, if a purple belt thinks he can take on a BJJ expert on the ground he is sadly mistaken. [/quote]
Well said Bob. Cote has a lot of fans and has been on the up and up in the MW division, argueably only 1 fight away from a #1 contender fight. The fight that I wanted to see is Cote/Leben part 2.
I think that this SHOULD be an easy win for Big Dog. All he has to do is get the fight to the ground and it should be over quickly. However, I am hoping that Cote is able to keep the fight standing for a little while at least, to keep the fight interesting. This fight is a big fight in the MW division.
As a fellow Canadian I like to see Cote win put I do have to agree with you guys on the selection. I guess he is feeling good about his ground game.
Coteeee Coteeeeeee Coteeeeeee
vive le Quebec
COTE vs. LEBEN 2 would have been much better. a match with a fellow slugger would have been far more entertaining. this is a bad match styllisticly. i sure hope COTE can keep this fight standing, i sure would hate to see him lose and have to start his climb back up yhe rankings. right now i have him on the 3rd tier of fighters in the Mwt div. if he wins this fight IMO he moves up to the 2nd tier of fighters,and is 1 win away from a title contenders match. if Okami is next for Anderson, then he shpuld fight ACE Franklin or Nate Marquardt for next title shot thats if he can beat Almeida. if he losses then he should fight Jorge Rivera since they both KOed k grove. el conquistidor would probably stand & trade with him.
[quote comment=”386766″]I can’t believe this video hasn’t been posted on here yet. Absolutely hilarious
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXSsRAa7msg/quote
Thats funny as hell. It would be great if they saw that.
[quote comment=”387343″]Do Cote and GSP use the same modeling agency?[/quote]
dee-lish
Good match ups, bad match ups… how is a fighter ever going to develop his game if all he ever fights is guys that complement his style? So when Cote knocks out a few more punching backs and then finds his way to challenging the champion he will be nice and one dimensional… This will be a great opportunity to train his ground game seriously if he really wants to win… but he wont, Almeida via anaconda choke.
[quote comment=”387572″]Good match ups, bad match ups… how is a fighter ever going to develop his game if all he ever fights is guys that complement his style? So when Cote knocks out a few more punching backs and then finds his way to challenging the champion he will be nice and one dimensional… This will be a great opportunity to train his ground game seriously if he really wants to win… but he wont, Almeida via anaconda choke.[/quote]
Guess what, I really like the prediction of Almeida by anaconda choke…Good stuff Brendan
I was looking forward to Cote fighting in Montreal. The home town crowd and all. I can’t remember who his opponent was suppose to be, Jason MacDonald? Anyway this rumored fight is tougher. Cote needs to keep winning but this Almeida fellow he looks like the real deal, I think he was brought in to built up to fight Anderson Silva.
Some have suggested Cotes heavy hands would pose a problem for the Spida but I really think you don’t want to stand with Anderson for too long. Dan Henderson argueably won round one because he got Anderson down and held him there, trying to pound him. Almeida if he has a decent take down technique will give anyone trouble on the ground…
Is 86 in the UK? Today hasn’t been a good day.
Doesnt Cote train with BTT Canada for the most part? He should probably go train else where if he wishes to progress a further in his career.
Almeida is been a black belt for 9 years, he is a world champion, and placed many times at ADDC . Almeida’s wrestling is very impressive, Rob yunt was more of a wrstler than anything else , and Almeida took him down with no proble. how is cote going to stop him.
The same way he stopped his last 3 opponents, TKO. Cote’s ground game isn’t as bad as most think,he did submit Jason Macdonald who isn’t half bad on the ground. Sure Cote has to watch out for the submissions,but Almeida has to watch out for that 1 punch KO power.
A purple belt….Almeida has been a black belt longer than Cote has been training bjj. His confidence in his ground game is admirable, but maybe a little naïve!? Almeida will respect Cote’s hands and if Cote is smart, he will respect Almeida’s ground game. I think this could be an interesting fight? My money — Almeida round 1, knee-bar/heel-hook.
Almeida will easily submit Cote on the ground…I think Cote’s comments are for show..if he trains with florian than I’m sure he’s been advised to keep the fight standing..Florian is half the grappler that Almeieda is and I’m sure Florian is just showing cote how to get back to his feet…sprawl and brawl is he’s only chance..KO by Cote could happen but Almeida def has the upper hand