Patrick Cote Still Wants Terry Martin

"I just don’t like this guy. He has a big mouth. Terry Martin has said he’s the next big thing at 185 and that he will be champion. He thinks he has heavy hands because he knocked out Jorge Rivera. But if you watch that fight, you see Rivera was already off balance and he caught him. He’s a one-dimensional fighter. He doesn’t shoot for the leg; he tries to trap you against the cage. I can use my reach against him, and I have good footwork and hands. It will be a long night for him if he wants to try and trap me against the cage."

I'm still not quite sure what to make of two middle-of-the-pack middleweights trading barbs. Should I be excited for a Cote-Martin showdown? Both have new-found success at 185 lbs, and neither is really positioned for title contention. Either way, I'm always amused by fighters badmouthing one another.

To see what Martin had to say about Cote a few weeks back, click here.

Straight Talk

"I’m going to hurt that dude (Patrick Cote) for real. He barked up the wrong tree. He better watch what he says. Look at his facts. He’s never been knocked out? Woo, there’s goes another one. Another one bites the dust. That bitch is getting knocked out."

- UFC middleweight Terry Martin

Cote is Ready for Grove

"He’s a very tall guy, but I already fought a guy that tall before at 205 (Ricardeau Francois), so it’s not a big deal for me, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be stronger and more powerful than him. I can’t see him being strong at 185 being 6' 6". The most difficult thing is the height and to find a hole to go inside and do your stuff. But I have good training partners. I have a guy who is 6' 5" to train with, a very good Muay Thai guy, so I’ll be ready for this fight."

- UFC middleweight Patrick "The Predator" Cote

I was just reading a UFC.com article about Cote, and hearing that he's been training with someone around the same size as Kendall Grove makes this match much more interesting. Most of you probably aren't too fired up about Grove vs. Cote, but I think that it has the makings to be a very exciting fight. And think about it: why wouldn't you be rooting for some excitement from a couple of young middleweight contenders?

Grove's size is a problem for just about any 185-pounder, and he has demonstrated a punishing arsenal of knees and elbows from the clinch. Cote, who loves to let his hands go, believes that this is a must-win situation for his career with the UFC. His UFC 67 over Scott Smith was lackluster, but now that he's got a UFC win under his belt, I'm looking forward to a more spirited performance from The Predator.

UFC Confirms Three Biggies

- UFC middleweights Kendall Grove and Patrick Cote will face off at UFC 74 on August 5. If Cote couldn’t finish Scott Smith, I don’t see how he’ll manage the much bigger, much more lethal Kendall Grove.

- UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra will make his first title defense against Matt Hughes in Las Vegas on Dec. 31 -– not in New Jersey in November. The change of venue was made public on Hughes’ web site. A New Jersey fight would have been huge for Long Island's Serra.

- The winner of the Sean Sherk/Hermes Franca UFC lightweight championship match at UFC 73 next weekend will make his first title defense face BJ Penn, UFC president Dana White told ESPN’s “The Hot List.” Looks like BJ will be picking up a lightweight championship before jumping back up to the UFC's glamorous welterweight class. Not to brag or anything, but once I heard that the BJ Penn/Jens Pulver fight was set, I told my friend Ross that Penn would definitely get a title shot if he were to get past Jens. Damn, I'm good...