Patrick Cote
Canadian middleweight Patrick ‘The Predator’ Côté (17-7) has had a bit of a long journey, going from No. 1 contender and losing to Anderson Silva back in 2008, to having to fight his way back into the Octagon.
On Thursday, that’s exactly what happened as Côté was officially announced as Rich Franklin’s replacement for next month’s UFC 148 event. ‘The Predator’ will now face former Strikeforce champ Cung Le (7-2) in what should be a great standup fight for fans.
“I M BACK !!!,” tweeted Cote (@patrick_cote), whose fans had launched a campaign in recent months to lobby for his return to the Octagon. “UFC 148 Las Vegas , july 7th vs the dangerous Cung Le ! Thanks everybody for the support !”
UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II is expected to take place on July 7, 2012 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Their bout will take place on the main card of the pay-per-view event.
Franklin stepped in for injured UFC 147 headliner Vitor Belfort, and will now meet Wanderlei Silva at the Brazilian event. Côté takes this fight with Le on just over a months notice.
Côté has won four straight, including three over previous UFC fighters, and is coming off a definitive victory against Gustavo Machado last month in Brazil, winning a first round knockout at the AFC 2 event. The other wins include defeats of Crafton Wallace, Todd Brown, and Kalib Starnes. ‘The Predator’ had lost three straight in the UFC, including a loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 90, before he was released by the top promotion.
Le debuted with the UFC last November at UFC 139, losing by second round TKO to Wanderlei Silva at the San Jose event. Le has not fought since then and enters the fight on a 1-2 record over his last three. The former Strikeforce champ earned a knockout finish of Scott Smith in their rematch for Le’s last victory. Le starred in the feature film Dragon Eyes this year and will appear in the upcoming movie The Man with the Iron Fists.