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Weekend Rundown: Cote Returns, Tops Starnes at Ringside 10
By: Chris Nelson
Sherdog.com Illustration
Former UFC middleweight title contender Patrick Cote began his post-Octagon campaign with a unanimous decision win over Kalib Starnes at Saturday’s Ringside MMA 10. Before a hometown crowd of approximately 3,500 at Montreal’s Bell Centre, the 31-year-old “Predator” survived an early scare on the ground to outstrike Starnes in the final two periods and earn a trio of 29-28 scorecards. Cote was released by the UFC in October and had not won a bout since defeating Ricardo Almeida at UFC 86 in July 2008.
Fighting on less than one month’s notice, “Polish Pistola” Seth Baczynski claimed the Ringside interim welterweight title by punching out local favorite Alex Garcia at 2:44 of the second round. The previously unbeaten Garcia was slated to meet welterweight champ Chris Clements before Clements was sidelined with an ankle injury in early March. A contestant on the eleventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Baczynski has notched back-to-back knockout wins since losing to Brad Tavares at the “TUF 11” finale in June 2010.
Elsewhere on the bill, Michel Gagnon retained his Ringside featherweight strap by slamming Rejean Groulx into submission at 3:47 of the third round; Georges St. Pierre training partner Mike Ricci returned from a year-long hiatus with a TKO win over Jesse Ronson at 3:12 of the opening frame; and light heavyweight Roger Hollett clubbed Martin Desilets 99 seconds into round two, stopping the Team Legion fighter with knees and hooks. Read more -
Vitale Submits Starnes at ‘Champions 2’
By: James Meinhardt
HONOLULU -- After a 16-month layoff from the sport, Falaniko Vitale was victorious in his return, as he submitted UFC castoff Kalib Starnes with a front choke just 2:22 into the first round in the X-1 World Events “Champions 2” main event on Saturday at the Blaisdell Arena.
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Starnes started off strong, as he scooped up the X-1 middleweight champion and deposited him on the canvas in the opening minutes of the bout.
“I know I got a few takedowns there. I felt like it was easy to take him down,” Starnes said. “I feel like I could have kept doing that over and over again.”
However, after the second successful takedown, the Hawaiian found a way to turn the tables. With Starnes standing over him, Vitale grabbed the Canadian’s ankle and tripped him to the ground. From there, “Niko” quickly assumed top position. -
Saturday Etc.
By: Jake Rossen
Eric "Butterbean" Esch will match bellies with opponent Harry “The Ho-Chunk Hammer” Funmaker in what’s being billed as Esch’s last boxing match. If you’re in Wisconsin Friday night, it’s something to do. More specifically, the only thing to do…Carlos Condit confirmed to MMAJunkie that he’s training at Greg Jackson’s gym in Albuquerque; Kimbo Slice has stationed himself at American Top Team in Miami…MMAWeekly reports that Bellator champion Hector Lombard’s break-a-sweat bout with Kalib Starnes could be rescheduled for Nov. 20 due to a concussion suffered by Lombard in training; Starnes can now put his will aside…Dana White told The Opie and Anthony Show that Quinton Jackson “will fight” for the UFC in the future. Unless Jackson has somehow developed an allergy to money, there’s no doubt.
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