Consecutive defeats to middleweight champion Anderson Silva, Alan Belcher and Tom Lawlor have left former title contender Patrick Cote (Pictured) without a place on the UFC roster.
“I had a little hope but finally got the release word from the UFC,” Cote wrote on Twitter.
Cote, a former two-division TKO champion, has also held titles inside the King of the Cage and Maximum Fighting Championship promotions. He owns notable victories against “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 winner Kendall Grove, former middleweight King of Pancrase Ricardo Almeida and current Strikeforce standout Scott Smith. He has delivered nine of his 13 career wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission.
A five-fight winning streak carried Cote into his UFC 90 title bout against Silva. A non-contact knee injury thwarted his hopes in the third round, led to two knee surgeries and put him on the sidelines for more than a year. Cote was a finalist on Season 4 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series.