Rising UFC middleweights Patrick Cote and Ricardo Almeida will square off on the main card of UFC 86 on July 5th according to The Fight Network, who confirmed the bout with Cote’s training partner and former UFC fighter David Loiseau.

Cote started his UFC career with four straight octagon losses to Tito Ortiz, Joe Doerksen, Chris Leben, and Travis Lutter. He has since turned his UFC career around and has emerged as possible middleweight title contender with octagon wins over Scott Smith, Kendall Grove, and Andrew McFedries as well as a TKO Middleweight Championship victory over Jason Day.

Almeida compiled a 7-2 MMA record between 2000 and 2004 but took nearly a four year break from the sport before returning to the UFC earlier this year. In his first bout with the promotion Almeida quickly dispatched opponent Rob Yundt via submission just over one-minute into the opening round. Despite the long hiatus from the sport, Almeida remains a potential middleweight contender having won seven straight bouts.

Source: www.ufcdaily.com