Thiago Alves felt confident heading into his Ufc 210 bout with Patrick Cote. He had every reason to, despite failing to see success in his previous bouts. He knew his opponent was on his last professional fighting legs and took full advantage of the narrative to earn himself an easy victory. The welterweight fighter returned from an attempted stint at lightweight and will now be able to begin climbing the rankings once again.
Easy victory at UFC 210
Cote gave a nice kick in the beginning of the first round, but it wasn't enough to take down his foe at UFC 210, who then struck back with a deadly vengeance, landing a left hand to the face before raining punches down on his opponent.
Alves tried to get his opponent under a submission in the second round unsuccessfully, but tried a similar tactic in the third round to great effect, his opponent struggling and bloody. From that point on, it was obvious who was going to win the fight.
The judges needed little time to deliberate on the result. Each judge turned back a 30-27 scorecard in favor of Alves, one of the easiest unanimous decisions they likely ever had to deliver. Following the conclusion of the fight, Cote removed his gloves and placed them in the middle of the ring. He had made it clear in the lead-up to UFC 210 that this would be his last fight, but the moment still stirred up emotions for everybody in attendance at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
Looking ahead...and behind
Alves missed weight when he tried to move to lightweight, so his return to the welterweight category was a welcome relief for the fighter. He improved his career record to 22-11 with the win. He once had a UFC title shot, but lost to Georges St-Pierre via a unanimous decision back in 2009. Alves probably won't be able to climb back to that apex of his career, but the 33-year-old Brazilian certainly should give it a shot.
Cote walks away from the UFC as an accomplished fighter. The Canadian, whose career spanned three weight classes, finishes with a 23-11 record (one win better than his Saturday night opponent has). He was an MFC Middleweight Champion, TKO Middleweight Champion, and TKO Light Heavyweight Champion during his fighting career. His last victory came on January 17, 2016, when he won by TKO against Ben Saunders. Cote also once attempted a boxing career, but lost his only bout in the discipline. He will likely retire to his hometown of Quebec.
