Rising welterweights will battle at the UFC 178 card in Las Vegas, as the promotion announced that former UFC title contender Patrick Cote will take on knockout artist Stephen Thompson in the pay-per-view card at Nevada’s pay-per-view card on Sept. 27.
Cote (20-8) enters the fight coming off three consecutive victories over Alessio Sakara, Bobby Voelker and Kyle Noke. The TUF: Nations coach is 3-1 since his return to the Octagon. The Canadian went 4-0 when fighting for other promotions in 2011 and 2012.
Thompson (9-1) bounced back from his first professional loss to Matt Brown, winning three straight since May 2013. After going the distance against Nah-shon Burrell, Wonderboy finished Chris Clements and Robert Whittaker.
New fights were also announced for the UFC 177 card in Sacramento, Calif., including a battle of exciting lightweights.
Ramsey Nijem and Carlos Diego Ferreira, who were last seen in the Octagon in devastating first-round victories worth of Performance of the Night bonuses, are set to collide on Aug. 30.
Nijem (9-4) finished Beneil Dariush with punches in Abu Dhabi, scoring his second win in a row following a decision over Justin Edwards. The TUF 13 runner-up looks for his sixth victory under the UFC banner.
Undefeated in MMA, Ferreira (10-0) impressed in his UFC debut in June, scoring a 38-second submission victory over Colton Smith. The lightweight entered the UFC after winning the Legacy FC 155-pound title in November.
UFC 177 will also feature a heavyweight bout between Ruan Potts and Anthony Hamilton.
Potts (8-2) looks for his first UFC win after a first-round loss to Soa Palelei in May. The former Extreme Fighting Championship Africa heavyweight champion entered the UFC in a three-fight winning streak with three first-round submissions.
Hamilton (12-3) also had his winning streak snapped in his UFC debut. Freight Train, a former MFC heavyweight champion who entered the Octagon riding a six-fight winning streak with five finishes, tapped to Oleksiy Oliynyk in his first UFC appearance.
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