By Carlin Bardsley
Patrick Cote will step into the Octagon Saturday night opposite noted sanshou expert Cung Le. He goes into the contest as a late replacement for Rich Franklin, who was tapped to move up a month and fight Wanderlei Silva at UFC 147. But fighting a big name like Le on short notice is nothing new for the heavy-handed French-Canadian as his UFC debut was much the same.
UFC 50 took place on Oct. 22, 2004 and was to be headlined by Tito Ortiz and Guy Mezger in a continuation of the feud between Ortiz and Ken Shamrock’s Lion’s Den. But just days before the fight, Mezger withdrew after suffering from stroke-like symptoms and the UFC was left scrambling to find Ortiz an opponent. At that late stage, Zuffa would settle for any warm body with a pulse.
Cote was scheduled to make his UFC debut on the preliminary portion of the card, taking on former Canadian Football League player Marvin (The Beastman) Eastman. Cote had racked up a 5-0 record in Quebec’s famed TKO organization and the UCC and earned a reputation as a power puncher, with his previous victory being a 21 second knockout of UFC veteran Bill Mahood. He was hoping to follow in the footsteps of his training partner Georges St-Pierre, who was taking on Matt Hughes for the vacant UFC welterweight title that night. But with Mezger out and UFC short on options, Cote was asked to step into the main event slot and take on “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy.”
If Cote was suffering from the famed “Octagon jitters” in his debut, he hid them well. He entered the arena with an ear-to-ear grin with Red Rider’s “Lunatic Fringe” blaring in the background. While he eventually lost a decision to the then-champion Ortiz, Cote proved that he belonged in the promotion by being able to hang in with one of the sport’s all-time greats on short notice. He even dropped Ortiz with a punch, shocking the Atlantic City crowd and possibly even the UFC brass.
After disappointing results in his next two bouts — losing by submission to fellow Canadian Joe Doerksen at UFC 152 and dropping a split decision to Chris Leben four months later — Cote was cut by the UFC but earned his way back during the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter, titled appropriately “The Comeback.” There he reached the middleweight finals against Travis Lutter, who he was submitted by in the TUF 4 finale, and was determined to prove he belonged among the division’s elite. After the loss to Lutter, Cote racked up five straight wins at 185 pounds, picking up two “Knockout of the Night” bonuses along the way and earning a title shot. The stage was set for a showdown with champion Anderson Silva.
What should have been Cote’s greatest moment instead turned into what must be one of his most bitter disappointments. Not for his performance, as he became the first challenger to take Silva into the third round in the UFC, something that future Hall of Famers Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson were unable to accomplish. But in that third frame, Cote pivoted wrong and aggravated an old knee injury, causing him to fall to the mat in pain and the fight to be stopped due to injury.
Cote spent the next eighteen months on the sidelines while the middleweight division moved on without him. His return saw him drop two fights by being out-wrestled by Alan Belcher and Tom Lawlor, and just like that his second stint in the UFC was over.
After returning to the independent scene with much vigour, Cote amassed four consecutive victories and was vocal about wanting another opportunity in the big show. He also chided former UFC heavyweight kingpin Tim Sylvia for his non-stop twitter campaign to be re-employed by Zuffa, choosing instead to let his fists do the talking and prove to the UFC brass that he deserved yet another chance.
While Cote is the favourite to some oddsmakers due to his experience and punching power, Le is an opponent that can turn the tide of a fight on a dime with his unorthodox highlight-reel kicks. But the fight seems tailor-made for the man known as “The Predator.” Cote won’t have to worry about being taken down and controlled on the ground as he was in his last two UFC fights. Le is an opponent that will aim to stand and trade shots with him, which plays right into the strengths of Cote.
Cote knows he has to make the most of the opportunity he’s been given. Stepping up to fight a big name on short notice brings him back to the beginning of his UFC career and brings him full-circle. If he brings with him the same enthusiasm, the same grin, and the same punching power that he brought in his UFC debut against Ortiz, he may very well establish himself as a force once again in the world’s largest promotion.
Carlin Bardsley is a writer for MMASucka.com and the host of a daily MMA radio show on NextSportStar.com.
