Cote TUF After The Comeback
Posted by Chad Edward on January 24th, 2008“TUF 4: The Comeback” silver medalist Patrick Cote spun Drew McFedries’s chin into orbit with a right uppercut Wednesday night at The Palms in Las Vegas.
It was the first round of their co-main event matchup on the UFC’s twelfth “Fight Night” on SpikeTV.
McFedries, back from a 33-second knockout win over Jordan Radev in June, collapsed against the cage.
“He was playing cocky,”
“The Predator” pounced atop the fallen Miletich fighter and pounded a 1:44 TKO out of him, referee Herb Dean stepping in mercifully at the end.
In his last fight, Cote took just three minutes longer to realize the same result versus Kendall Grove and now looks prime to return to the 185-pound picture.
The other co-main event, Swick vs. Burkman, formed a terrible tag-team of questionable judging with undercard matchupTavares vs. Omigawa.
Mike Swick, debuting at welterweight, looked like he would’ve attacked The Palms buffet with more oomph than he mustered in the Octagon against fellow “TUF” alum Josh Burkman.
For three rounds, both fighters tip-toed and paddy-caked; but, Burkman stalked more aggressively, manhandling Swick in the clinch.
Usually explosive, Swick apologized after accepting a majority decision victory amidst a cacophony of boos, saying, “I’m sorry for my performance not being as exciting. I don’t know what else to say.”
Fresh from his first loss in thirteen fights, lightweight Thiago Tavares wanted to take the statistically-overmatched 4-5 Michihiro Omigawa out.
Omigawa, however, was the personification of Japanese resiliency.
Most of the struggle took place in Tavares territory. Omigawa’s guard frustrated the busy BJJ black belt; but, Tavares wanted nothing from Omigawa’s stand-up.
What seemed inevitable, until Omigawa proved game, ultimately concluded the technical stalemate. Tavares was given a unanimous decision victory.
The two decisions continue a trend of mixed martial arts judges, usually with boxing backgrounds, awarding victories to more popular fighters when the underdog bites harder than pre-fight bark predicted.
“I’m trying to get some contenders, man, some top guys in there to fight,” Nate Diaz complained after tapping his third consecutive unranked UFC fighter.
9-2 lightweight Alvin Robinson got himself wrapped in a Diaz leg triangle, forced to tap at 3:39 of the first round.
Diaz may be destined to rematch Manny Gamburyan, his “The Ultimate Fighter 5” nemesis, who is healthy after sustaining a shoulder injury against Diaz in that season’s finale.
Fellow lightweight Kurt Pellegrino willed himself through an early onslaught by Alberto Crane to hammer out a TKO win at 1:55 of round two.
Crane caught Pellegrino early with a left high kick, then the BJJ black belt wrapped his near-unconscious foe in a tense guillotine choke.
“I thought it was a punch,” Pellegrino confessed about the kick after the fight. “I think I’m still knocked out.”
Pellegrino survived on instinct, gritting through the first round to settle the fight with a right hand to Crane’s eye in the second.
In untelevised undercard fights, Xtreme Couture lightweight Gray Maynard took a unanimous decision over German Dennis Silver.
Jeremy Stevens of Iowa TKO’d American Top Team’s Cole Miller at 4:44 of the second round in a fight at 155-pounds.
6′4″ lightweight Corey Hill TKO’d 5′6″ Joe Veres at 37 seconds of the second round.
Finally, Matt Wiman extended his UFC win streak to three with a first round rear naked choke submission of Octagon-debuting lightweight Justin Buchholz.
