French Canadian middleweight Patrick Cote had heard all the criticism and then some: he was a choke artist who couldn't handle the bright lights of the Octagon; his striking game was too one-dimensional for elite-level MMA fighters; his dismal UFC record meant that he was one more loss away from oblivion.
But Cote saw something the critics didn't. In Kendall Grove, a lanky BJJ and cardio dynamo from Hawaii, Cote saw an opponent with a suspect chin who could be drawn into a brawl. And that's what Cote did, forcing a referee stoppage after clipping Grove on the chin and following with some vicious strikes on the ground.
For Cote, this upset has already turned around perceptions of at least some of his critics. It will take another win against a higher caliber opponent, or likely two or three, to fully bring his name into the conversation when talk turns to title contenders though.
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