If you are a fan of Forrest Griffin or Patrick Cote, it was a nervous couple of minutes while you awaited the judges' decisions at UFC 86 on Saturday night.

OK, so it turned out that Griffin won quite handily, in a somewhat shocking performance (at least to some, Quinton Jackson included) to become the UFC's new light-heavyweight champion.

But could you really say you were sure he was going to get the nod after that back-and-forth, tight, fight-of-the-night performance that capped off a fairly entertaining card?

It was pretty clear that Jackson won the first round 10-9. And I thought Griffin definitely earned a 10-8 in the second (two judges agreed).

But the final three rounds were a bit of a crapshoot. Overall, Griffin looked better as Jackson tired and was unable to put pressure on his forward leg, which was hurt by a Forrest kick to the knee in the second round. But with some decent slams and combos, you could still argue either of the third and fourth rounds in Jackson's favour.

When Bruce Buffer had read out the judges' scores and was about to announce the winner, even Forrest had a moment of visible disappointment when he heard "And…" and was anticipating that to be followed by "still UFC champion." But the words "the new light-heavyweight champion of the world," were the sweetest to hear for the former Ultimate Fighter winner and all of his longtime fans. Griffin helped revolutionize the sport and now he can rightly be called the best in his weight class.

In the end the judges made it a pretty one-sided decision for Forrest (the aforementioned two judges gave the three rounds to Griffin, and the one who didn't award a 10-8 in the second judged all of the final four rounds his way.)

So what's next for Griffin? He could face the winner of the Chuck Liddell-Rashad Evans fight in September. Could you imagine The Iceman vs. Forrest to close out the year? That would be a fan-favourite to be sure.

Or perhaps, after a fight like Saturday's, a rematch with Jackson should be next. I would say that will have to wait, since Liddell didn't get a rematch right away after Rampage ended his dominant run at champ.

The fight Saturday that I was eagerly anticipating, perhaps even more than the title bout, was Quebecer Patrick Cote's. That one was much closer.

Again, it seemed pretty clear that Almeida won the first round. The second round could have gone either way. While Almeida had some decent submission attempts, Cote was able to get out of them easily or avoid them completely. Overall, Cote was more of the aggressor and landed some big shots, which appeared to earn him the round.

In the third, the long time off for Almeida (almost four years) may have been a factor as he tired and never really mounted much of anything until it was too late. Cote landed some leg kicks and kept up the aggression and while he ended the round on his back, it was likely too little, too late for Almeida.

It was funny watching both fighters raise their arms the moment the final bell rung, both sure they had just secured the victory. Almeida would be the one disappointed, and it showed, when the split decision went Cote's way.

The French Canadian crumpled to the ground in jubilee when he heard Buffer announce his name, the gratification of evening his record in the UFC at 4-4 after starting off with four losses overwhelming him

Overall in the bout, I felt Cote did better at fending off Almeida's jiu-jitsu than Almeida did at Cote's strikes, so it was a deserved victory. Even if not convincing.

However, I'm not sure it was enough for Cote to have earned a chance to fight the champion Anderson Silva. The UFC has said the winner would get a title shot in the fall -- White confirmed it afterward.

Could Cote beat Silva? I don't know. Silva has the knack for making guys who look fantastic against others look downright silly against him. Like Rich Franklin. Twice.

But Cote has got a great chin. And great heart. Will it be enough against a guy who comes at you with not only his fists, but his knees, elbows, legs and everything he can throw at you? Cote believes he has the perfect style to face Silva. I'd love to see him try.

And it sure would be nice to have two Canadian champions.