The second bout of the UFC 210: Cormier vs. Johnson 2 main card in Buffalo, New York saw veterans Thiago Alves and Patrick Cote square off at welterweight. In the end, it was Alves who had his hand raised, while Cote said farewell to the fans.
Alves started off with kicks on Cote’s lead leg. “The Predator” scored with right hands over the top, but Alves had the damaging offense of the round. A knee in the clinch hurt Cote, and towards the end of the first he dropped the Canadian with a left hook. Cote minimized the damage when Alves followed him to the mat, and he survived to see round two.
Leg kicks and left hooks continued to flourish for the Brazilian. Cote did answer back by clipping him with right hands over the top, but his success was sporadic. He came forward with a flurry but Alves dropped him to his knees with a vicious counter right. Cote recovered but then took even more punishment on that lead leg with nasty kicks.
Cote fought with a sense of urgency in the final round. He caught Alves with good shots against the fence, then shot for a takedown, but that backfired and he eventually wound up on his back off an Alves takedown. Cote returned to his feet with two minutes left but ate a left hook for his troubles. Alves had Cote terribly bloodied and beaten up. Cote caught Alves with an uppercut, then another one, and Cote started doing bolo wind-ups. Alves ended the fight with a flying knee, which drew a smile from Cote.
Official result: Thiago Alves def. Patrick Cote by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
An emotional Cote dropped his gloves on the center of the Octagon and announced his retirement to the crowd. The one-time middleweight title challenger ends his career with a record of 24-11. For Alves, it’s his first win since stopping Jordan Mein at UFC 183 in January 2015.
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