Patrick Cote Back to Training, Looking For Summer Return

Ariel Shnerer at the Fight Network reports that former UFC middleweight title contender, Patrick Cote is nearly recovered from the torn meniscus he suffered in October against Anderson Silva, and has returned to training in the hopes of returning to action this summer.

"I will be back in the gym fully training in three weeks or so," said Cote, who underwent knee surgery for a torn meniscus in November.

As usual, Cote (13-5, 4-5 UFC) will be splitting his training, working jiu-jitsu with Fabio Holanda at BTT Canada in Montreal, and striking with Mark Dellagrotte at Sityodtong in Boston.

When asked for his thoughts on possible opponents for his return fight, Cote already had a few ideas:

"I want to fight someone in the top-five or top-10," said Cote, who spoke enthusiastically about his prospective return to the promotion. 

"I want Alan Belcher or the winner of Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva," he said.

Another possible opponent mentioned by Cote is not under contract with the UFC.

"I would love to fight Vitor Belfort if he came to the UFC," said Cote.

Although many questioned the legitimacy of Cote's title shot against Anderson Silva at UFC 90, at the time, there were few other legitimate contenders as Nate Marquardt hadn't quite worked his way back up the ladder, and Demian Maia, Michael Bisping, and Dan Henderson weren't firmly established in the 185 lb division yet.  Despite Cote's less than stellar record inside the Octagon, he has evolved much in the same way that Kenny Florian has, vastly improving his skills and turning his MMA career around in the past year or so.

Belcher might make for a fantastic matchup with Cote, as both pack serious power on the feet, but can also handle the ground game fairly well.  "The Talent" is also looking to move up the middleweight ladder as recent wins over Ed Herman and Denis Kang prove that Belcher may have shed his "gatekeeper" status.  Rousimar Palhares might be another possibility for Cote, as Patrick was able to fend off the ground skills of Ricardo Almeida fairly readily, although I think Joe Silva might match up Toquinho with Belcher since those two will be looking to fight fairly soon.

Perhaps Cote will be given someone less challenging for his first fight back after a serious injury...a Tim Credeur maybe?  Mirko Cro-Cop protege Goran Reljic is also due to return soon and drop to 185, provided he's fully recovered the injury that's kept him out for nearly a year after he impressively TKO'd Wilson Gouveia in his debut.  Of course, Gouveia will also be looking to rebound after getting destroyed by Nate Marquardt at UFC 95.

There's a lot to be excited about in the current UFC middleweight division, which, only a few months ago, was considered stale and devoid of any new talent.

With Marquardt, Maia, Henderson, Bisping, and Okami at the top of the heap, and Belcher, Palhares, Gouveia, Cote, and possibly Wanderlei Silva just below, along with the undefeated-in-the-UFC Tim Credeur, and prospects like Reljic, Anderson Silva may have his hands full in the coming months if he gets through Thales Leites in Montreal.  Things are looking pretty exciting at 185 right now.