“The Ultimate Fighter” season 11 winner Court McGee (10-1) makes his return to Spike television as part of the broadcasters “UFC Prelims” special preceding the “UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velazquez” pay-per-view.
McGee will step into the octagon for the first time since earning the TUF contract in June, to face Ryan Jensen (15-6). Joining them will be fellow UFC middleweights Patrick Côté (13-6) and Tom Lawlor (6-3) who square off in a bout that could cost the loser his job.
UFC 121 is set to go down on October 23 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The main event features a UFC heavyweight title bout between champion Brock Lesnar who takes on top contender Cain Velasquez.
Here’s today’s Press Release from the UFC.
New York, NY, August 19, 2010 – Spike TV will showcase three former cast members of “The Ultimate Fighter,” including the winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 11,” Court McGee, in live undercard bouts from “UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velazquez” on Saturday, October 23 at 9:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM PT from the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. In the evening’s first televised bout, “The Ultimate Fighter 4” finalist Patrick “The Predator” Cote will battle season 8’s Tom Lawlor. Following that bout, McGee, in his first fight since winning “The Ultimate Fighter” crown this past June, takes on veteran Ryan Jensen.
Two middleweights in need of a win will meet inside the Octagon™ to start the night’s action, as Cote (14-6) battles Lawlor (6-3, 1 NC) in a pivotal 185-pound clash Fighting out of Quebec, the 30 year-old Cote enters this bout having won four of his last six fights in the UFC, including a first round knockout win over Kendall Grove at UFC 74 and a decision victory over Ricardo Almeida at UFC 86, the former of which garnered him “Knockout of the Night” honors, and the latter of which earned him a title shot against Anderson Silva. In the third round of his bout with Silva in October of 2008, Cote suffered a torn ACL after landing awkwardly while throwing a kick. After surgery and rehab, he proceeded to damage his MCL in the same knee while training, and did not return to the Octagon until this past May, where he broke his hand in a loss to Alan Belcher at UFC 113. Cote hopes to put his tough luck behind him as he takes on Lawlor.
Fighting out of Orlando, FL, Lawlor, renowned for his exciting entrances into the Octagon, is one of the most colorful and charismatic personalities in the UFC. He began his UFC career with a win over Kyle Kingsbury at the “The Ultimate Fighter 8” finale in December 2008, and followed that victory up with a first round submission of CB Dollaway via guillotine that earned him “Submission of the Night” honors at UFC 100 in July 2009. In his next bout, Lawlor dropped a split decision to Aaron Simpson at UFC Fight Night 20 this past January that was named “Fight of the Night,” but Lawlor was unable to bounce back with win from that defeat, as he lost via submission to Joe Doerksen at UFC 113 in May. He looks to turn things around against the veteran Cote.
The evening’s second televised bout is also a middleweight contest, and pits McGee (11-1) against Jensen (16-5). Fighting out of Orem, UT, 25-year old Court McGee is aiming to continue one of the most remarkable turnarounds in the history of mixed martial arts. McGee is a former heroin addict who was actually once pronounced dead by EMTs when they arrived on the scene after an overdose in 2005. McGee emerged from a six day coma after the incident and went through an extensive physical rehab program, relearning basic motor skills such as walking. Wrestling, karate and jiu jitsu were a pipe dream at the time, yet five years later, McGee finds himself in the world’s preeminent mixed martial arts organization. He defeated Kris McCray to win this past season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” in June, submitting his opponent via rear-naked choke in the second round, garnering the “Submission of the Night” award. He looks to win his first bout since the show against veteran Ryan Jensen.
A competitor in mixed martial arts since 1997, Omaha native Ryan Jensen currently trains with Greg Jackson and the prestigious Jackson’s MMA team in Albuquerque, NM. He enters his bout with McGee having split his last four fights in the UFC, with submission wins against Steve Steinbeiss and Jesse Forbes (which earned him “Submission of the Night” honors at UFC 114). On October 23rd, he hopes to win his second straight against the rising star, McGee.
Other bouts on the card might air on Spike TV, to be determined by the length of the fights.
Spike TV is available in 98.6 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com