Alessio Sakara (R) lands strikes to the back of the head of Patrick Cote (R) – Photo by Tracy Lee for Yahoo! Sports
The UFC 154 disqualification result giving Patrick ‘The Predator’ Cote (18-8) the win over opponent Alessio ‘Legionarius’ Sakara (15-10, 1NC) in Montreal on Nov. 17 will stand according to the Quebec commission which oversees combat sports in the Canadian province.
The commission opted not to hear Sakara’s appeal who took the stand that he was not warned about illegal strikes before the fight was stopped via disqualification.
The two fighters competed in the final preliminary card bout on FX television, with the two trading sold strikes in the opening minute with Cote coming out on the short end. In an attempt to take ‘Legionarius’ down, Cote went for a single leg but was met with several strikes to the side and back of the head. Referee Dan Miragliotta jumped in to end the fight at 86-seconds disqualifying Sakara shortly after the stoppage.
News surfaced Friday via La Presse, a Montreal newspaper who confirmed the news with Board spokesman Joyce Tremblay.
“The decision of the arbitrator is final and without appeal.”
The victory is Cote’s first since returning to the Octagon this summer following a decision loss to Cung Le at UFC 148. The win puts his record at 5-1 in his last six matches though.
UFC president Dana White has expressed interest in seeing both fighters matched up again.