UFC Veteran Cote Signs with Ringside MMA

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Former UFC middleweight title contender Patrick Cote has signed with Canadian promotion Ringside MMA and will make his debut for the organization as the main event of a to-be-named show on April 9.

An opponent for the French-Canadian has not been announced, but details on the event, which will take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, are expected to come at a news conference on Feb. 1.

Cote tweeted news of his newly-signed contract on Tuesday, but the fighter did not mention the promotion with which he had inked a deal. Last month, Sherdog.com was the first to report that Cote was in negotiations with several Canadian promotions, though at the time the fighter had yet to make a final decision.

Cote also announced on his Twitter page that details of his deal would be revealed at a press conference on Jan. 31. On Jan. 15, it was revealed at Ringside MMA's “Rising Stars” event that the promotion would hold a gathering on Jan. 31 to announce the specifics of an April 9 show.

MMA Weekly first reported confirmation of Cote's signing with the Quebec promotion on Wednesday, and Sherdog.com confirmed the report with a source close to the negotiations.

A former TKO middleweight and light heavyweight champion, Cote made his Octagon debut in 2004, losing a unanimous decision to Tito Ortiz at UFC 50. “The Predator” would then post two defeats inside the Octagon, dropping contests to Joe Doerksen and Chris Leben in 2005. After winning the Maximum Fighting Championship middleweight crown, Cote participated in the fourth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” losing in the final stage to submission ace Travis Lutter.

Cote would then go on a five-fight winning streak, including four consecutive wins in the UFC over the likes of Kendall Grove, Scott Smith and Ricardo Almeida, before earning a title shot at champion Anderson Silva at UFC 90. After an injured knee forced the seasoned vet to retire early in the third round that night, Cote would not be seen again until 2010. The 30-year-old suffered a pair of defeats last year, to Alan Belcher and Tom Lawlor, respectively, and was cut by the promotion in October.