UFC 210 Date: April 8, 2017 Arena: KeyBank Center City: Buffalo, NY Welterweight bout: Patrick Cote (-160) vs. Thiago Alves (+140) Fight Breakdown: The UFC 210 main card will be featuring a welterweight contest between former UFC middleweight title challenger Patrick “The Predator” Cote and former UFC welterweight title challenger Thiago “The Pitbull” Alves, with Cote a -160 ($160 to win $100) betting favorite and Alves the +140 ($100 to win $140) underdog at Several Bookmakers. Patrick “The Predator” Cote (23-10 MMA, 10-7 UFC) is coming off a second-round TKO loss against Donald Cerrone, which snapped his three-fight winning streak. He plans to get back into the win column with an impressive victory over Alves when they square off in Buffalo. “The Predator” has solid boxing and Muay Thai skills and is a well-rounded mixed martial artist who is still making improvements in his game at this point in his career. He works decent single and double-leg takedowns, has good top control and is quite effective with his ground-and-pound attack. He also transitions well on the mat, moving from position to position. Cote is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has a very underrated submission game. He is a threat with his submissions from both top and bottom positions, and he does a great job of reversing position as well whenever finding himself on his back. His takedown defense is solid, and when taken down, he generally does a good job of finding his way back to his feet. Cote possesses a great chin and heavy hands. He is a technical brawler who gets more aggressive when he gets tagged on the feet but is generally a patient fighter who looks for openings and picks his shots. The French-Canadian has a solid jab, nice uppercuts and a vicious overhand hand. He has developed a very good kicking game too, using an effective front-kick, and doing an excellent job of working the inside leg of his opponents and delivering heavy outside leg-kicks, which I think could be a tool for him against Cerrone in this contest. Training out of Brazilian Top Team in Montreal, he has great cardio and will be ready for a full three rounds of action against Alves, should this fight hit the judges’ scorecards for a decision. Thiago “Pitbull” Alves (21-11 MMA, 13-8 UFC) made an attempt to move down to the UFC’s lightweight division after suffering a TKO (doctor stoppage) loss against Carlos Condit, but he failed to make weight at 155 pounds and lost a catchweight bout to Jim Miller via unanimous decision. He has opted to make the move back up to the welterweight division, where he will be greeted by Cote. Alves is a talented striker who moves well on the feet and possesses excellent kicks. His cardio seems to be hit or miss at this point in his career, and he appears to be on a decline. It is uncertain what type of fighter we will see when Alves steps foot in the Octagon here. The Brazilian owns a brown belt in BJJ though he has solid takedown defense and prefers to keep his fights on the feet, where he likes to implement his Muay Thai. Training out of American Top Ten in Coconut Creek, FL, “Pitbull” should be in as best of shape as he could be, considering this is a “make it or break it” fight for him. Gabe’s Call: Cote by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Gabe’s Thoughts: In short, I think Cote manages to score takedowns to out grind Alves in this matchup, but regardless of the outcome, I favor this fight to go over 2.5 rounds more often than not. At -170, I think it’s the best play for this bout. Gabe’s Recommended Play: Over 2.5 rounds (-170)
