UFC 148 Results Recap: Cung Le Vs. Patrick Cote

Cung Le hits Patrick Cote with a side kick during UFC 148 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, July 7, 2012. Esther Lin, MMA Fighting.

In Middleweight action at UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II, Cung Le defeated Patrick Cote via unanimous decision. Le took the fight with scores of 30-27 on all scorecards. This was Le's first win in the UFC, and he is now 8-2 overall. Cote's record now stands at 17-8, just 4-8 in the UFC.

This fight was always going to be a stand-up battle, and the question was could Cote use aggression to keep Le from settling in. The answer was a definitive no. Le started off strong, using his Sanshou kicks and takedowns to easily take round 1. By the second round, Le was starting to tire a bit and Cote mounted a comeback, turning in some quality action. Round three was a bit slow, as both men were tired, though Le again used his takedowns to gain the advantage.

What was the high spot of this fight?

I love Le's style, so a lot of this was pretty exciting to me. His opening sweep takedown was great, but the real highlight was when both men were getting a bit more heated in round 2.

Where do these guys go from here?

Post-fight Joe Rogan asked the 40 year old Cung Le if, now that he finally had that UFC win, he was done fighting. Le said no, but it's a good question, as I'm not sure what else to do with him. He's clearly just a side attraction, but that's not a terrible thing as he can be a ton of fun. Perhaps now is the time to reschedule that planned fight with Vitor Belfort.

Patrick Cote stepped in for Rich Franklin here, so I guess it's fair to give him one more shot, but at the same time, I wouldn't be shocked to see him cut either. Guys who are just .333 in the UFC don't need to be sticking around.

Watch it now, later or never?

Later. The 3rd round slows down, but this was a lot of fun at times, especially if you like Le's style.

SBN coverage of UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II

More Bloody Elbow coverage of UFC 148 in the full entry.

UFC 148 Results: Rashad Evans Asks To Fight Anderson Silva - Tim Burke

UFC 148 Results: Chael Sonnen Reveals Himself Again In Defeat Against Anderson Silva - David Castillo

UFC 148 Results: What's Next For The Main Card Fighters - Tim Burke

UFC 148 Video: Post-Fight Interviews With Anderson Silva, Forrest Griffin, Cung Le, More - Nate Wilcox

UFC 148 Results And Video: Dana White Furious With Forrest Griffin - Josh Nason

UFC 148 Results: Sunday Perspective - T.P. Grant

UFC 148 Results: The Legal Gray Area Of Anderson Silva's Knee On Chael Sonnen - KJ Gould

UFC 148 Results: Second Place Sonnen Found A Way To Lose - Nate Wilcox