By Mike JohnstonWhile the UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez, along with the debut of Jake Shields, steals the headlines leading into UFC 121, two popular Canadians are also preparing for important fights.
London, Ontario native Sam Stout takes on British striker Paul Taylor in a preliminary bout, and Quebec’s Patrick Cote is featured on Spike TV’s Prelims Live broadcast as he takes on Tom Lawlor.
The five-time Fight of the Night winner, Stout, believes he has the advantage going into his UFC 121 scrap. “There's a lot of things that factor into this fight, and a lot of them play in our favor," Stout said in a recent interview with MMAJunkie Radio. “I think it's going to be a good night for me.”
Stout is coming off a close, hard-fought split decision loss to Jeremy Stephens at UFC 113 in Montreal. In nine UFC fights Stout is 4-5 but has yet to finish an opponent. "There's a couple of things on paper that are really in my favor in this fight," he said. "But there's no way I'm going to take this fight lightly. I need a win right now. If you're in the UFC, you're tough. I went from fighting in smaller shows and knocking everybody out to fighting nine fights, and still don't have a knockout. A lot of my wins and losses have come down to a tiny margin of error. These are some world-class athletes, and you really can't underestimate them no matter what their circumstances are.”
Stout’s countryman, Cote, is looking to climb back to contender status after two consecutive losses and a battle with injuries. In a 2008 title fight with Anderson Silva, Cote blew out his knee and was out of commission until UFC 113 earlier this year. His return to the octagon was unsuccessful as he was submitted by Alan Belcher in front of his hometown crowd. “I wanted a big fight right away (after returning from injury) and that's exactly what we had,” said Cote. “But when the fight started, it just hit me in my face, ring rust does exist.”
Cote’s opponent Tom Lawlor is a scrappy middleweight coming off a loss to Winnipeg’s Joe Doerksen on that same UFC 113 card. “[Lawlor] is a gamer. He's not a very technical striker but he likes to stay on his feet and stay in the pocket and exchange,” said Cote. “I always say I'm not scared of anyone in my weight class on my feet and I think I'll be more powerful, more technical. I'm pretty sure he's going to try to put pressure on me and push me against the fence and try to wrestle me against the fence. If not, we're going to stay in the middle of the Octagon and exchange and somebody's going to sleep for sure. I'll win this fight and I'm going to start another streak after that."
Cote and Stout are two of the most talented and popular mixed martial artists in Canada and both are favoured to win at UFC 121. For more info on UFC 121 visit ufc.com.
Follow me on Twitter @MikeyJ_MMA for more MMA news.
London, Ontario native Sam Stout takes on British striker Paul Taylor in a preliminary bout, and Quebec’s Patrick Cote is featured on Spike TV’s Prelims Live broadcast as he takes on Tom Lawlor.
The five-time Fight of the Night winner, Stout, believes he has the advantage going into his UFC 121 scrap. “There's a lot of things that factor into this fight, and a lot of them play in our favor," Stout said in a recent interview with MMAJunkie Radio. “I think it's going to be a good night for me.”
Stout is coming off a close, hard-fought split decision loss to Jeremy Stephens at UFC 113 in Montreal. In nine UFC fights Stout is 4-5 but has yet to finish an opponent. "There's a couple of things on paper that are really in my favor in this fight," he said. "But there's no way I'm going to take this fight lightly. I need a win right now. If you're in the UFC, you're tough. I went from fighting in smaller shows and knocking everybody out to fighting nine fights, and still don't have a knockout. A lot of my wins and losses have come down to a tiny margin of error. These are some world-class athletes, and you really can't underestimate them no matter what their circumstances are.”
Stout’s countryman, Cote, is looking to climb back to contender status after two consecutive losses and a battle with injuries. In a 2008 title fight with Anderson Silva, Cote blew out his knee and was out of commission until UFC 113 earlier this year. His return to the octagon was unsuccessful as he was submitted by Alan Belcher in front of his hometown crowd. “I wanted a big fight right away (after returning from injury) and that's exactly what we had,” said Cote. “But when the fight started, it just hit me in my face, ring rust does exist.”
Cote’s opponent Tom Lawlor is a scrappy middleweight coming off a loss to Winnipeg’s Joe Doerksen on that same UFC 113 card. “[Lawlor] is a gamer. He's not a very technical striker but he likes to stay on his feet and stay in the pocket and exchange,” said Cote. “I always say I'm not scared of anyone in my weight class on my feet and I think I'll be more powerful, more technical. I'm pretty sure he's going to try to put pressure on me and push me against the fence and try to wrestle me against the fence. If not, we're going to stay in the middle of the Octagon and exchange and somebody's going to sleep for sure. I'll win this fight and I'm going to start another streak after that."
Cote and Stout are two of the most talented and popular mixed martial artists in Canada and both are favoured to win at UFC 121. For more info on UFC 121 visit ufc.com.
Follow me on Twitter @MikeyJ_MMA for more MMA news.
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