This is a tale of two UFC middleweights from Canada.

One based in Alberta, one from Quebec.

One is 4-3 in the Octagon, but has been stuck in a string of alternating wins and losses. The other is 4-4 in the UFC, but now ... he's fighting for a title.

Obviously, I'm talking about Red Deer's Jason (The Athlete) MacDonald and Quebec City's Patrick (The Predator) Cote.

And their paths are a perfect example of how fighters move up and down in the rankings in the UFC, and how fighters don't necessarily earn opportunities to fight for belts when or how you would expect. Let's compare the two...

Cote has been fighting in the UFC for a lot longer. His first appearance was in 2004, and it was a loss to Tito Ortiz, though he put on a suprisingly good effort. He then went on to lose his next three. Now, you won't find too many 0-4 fighters that the UFC is going to hang onto. But Cote was putting on good performances (some might say he was even robbed of a decision in one of the fights). So the UFC gave him another chance.

Then there's The Athlete. He came to the UFC less than two years ago but he started off his career there with two quick wins. They weren't necessarily high-profile, and he wasn't expected to win either one. But with two highlight submissions, suddenly he was one win away from a title shot. Of course, that one win would have to come against former champion Rich Franklin.

Respective records at the start of 2007: MacDonald 2-0, Cote 0-4

Back to Cote. In his fifth fight he won a rather lacklustre decision against Scott Smith. The good news was he was off the schneid. The bad news was he had to wait six months for his next appearance in the Octagon.

In the meantime, MacDonald lost to Franklin in a fight that probably came too early on in his career. Instead of getting to fight the champion next, he has to go back to the drawing board.

Records halfway through 2007: MacDonald 2-1, Cote 1-4

Cote finally gets back in there and wins with an unexpected knockout of Kendall Grove. Five months after that, a repeat performance against Drew McFedries. In the same period, MacDonald dominates Rory Singer, but gets smothered by a talented yet utterly boring Yushin Okami.

Records in February 2007: MacDonald 3-2, Cote 3-4

Not only does MacDonald have a better record, but Cote hasn't had to face either Franklin or Okami. But this is where things get interesting. Cote has an opportunity to fight Alan Belcher in Montreal. Thing is, he and his manager aren't happy with that matchup. They probably don't feel a win against him would boost his standing in the division enough. Fortunately for him, he has a legitimate reason to turn down the fight -- because of an injury.

MacDonald meanwhile fights Joe Doerksen in Montreal. It's a match up he's not happy with -- he's already beaten Doerksen, and a win against him doesn't do too much for him. But it's what he's offered, so he takes it, and makes the most of it with an impressive win.

But is he any closer to that elusive title shot? Not really. His next bout is against Demian Maia, with no promise of anything following. And he loses, which again puts him back to the drawing board.

Cote, instead, holds out for a marquee matchup, which he gets in the form of Ricardo Almeida. A win and he gets a title shot. And he gets it, barely, by split decision. There's no question he deserved the nod. But it wasn't exactly a statement win.

Is Cote more deserving of a championship fight than MacDonald? Not necessarily. But it just so happened he won the fight the UFC deemed fit to award a title shot to the winner. MacDonald had that chance a year earlier, but he was less experienced at that point. It was just bad timing for him.

In fact, I don't know that either MacDonald or Cote have done enough, record-wise, in the UFC to garner title shots. There are other guys with at least as many wins and much better win-loss records (Yushin Okami, Michael Bisping, Martin Kampmann) who you would figure would get an opportunity first. But what both Canadians have going for them is they're exciting fighters. They put on entertaining fights. And that's what the UFC wants to see.

That potential, perhaps more than anything, is what earned each of them the opportunity to fight for a title shot. And that's why they don't have to worry about their job security even if they were to go on a small losing streak.

So, back to the comparison.

Current records: MacDonald 4-3, Cote 4-4

While Cote is going to challenge perhaps the UFC's best pound-for-pound fighter for a belt, MacDonald is facing a guy making his debut at middleweight and who has lost three of his past four fights overall. It's almost a no-win situation for MacDonald. If he's victorious, well, he was expected to win. And if he loses, that would really set him back. (I don't at all expect him to lose, I'm just saying.)

But again, that was the fight offered to MacDonald and he took it. He filled in as a late replacement for Jason Day, so the UFC knows they can count on him to step up. And it's another opportunity to earn a paycheque, and another opportunity to add a 'W' to his record.

It's just interesting how the different paths of the two fighters, who actually went five rounds against each other in a 2006 MFC fight, have taken them to very different points right now. It's the way it goes in the world of the UFC. It's not always about who's the best, but about who can put on the best fights. It's about matchups. And in some cases, it's just about getting the right outcome at the right time.

SN.ca blogger jinx? I don't believe in jinxes, but if I did, I'd have to consider the effect on athletes blogging for Sportsnet.ca. Since MacDonald started graciously writing for our esteemed website, he is 1-2. And that one win was against Joe Doerksen, who also blogged for us on two occassions and went 0-2 while he did. So apart from the fight against each other, SN.ca MMA fighter/bloggers are 0-4.

Outside MMA, Adam van Koeverden, who was a favourite to win two gold medals, got none, and practically finished last in the final for one event for which he won both previous qualification heats. He did redeem himself with a silver medal in the other event, but even there he surrendered a big lead. (I'm not trying to be negative, I'm just saying.)

Blue Jays Gregg Zaun and Jeremy Accardo have been plagued by injury and poor play (not to mention Toronto's record). And CFL player Gene Makowsky sees his Roughriders, who started the year 6-0, currently on a two-game losing streak after he started blogging partway through the year. (Officially, Saskatchewan is 3-0 pre-blog, 3-2 post-blog).

Sports Illustrated's got nothing on us. Now if we can just get their level of readership.