Ringside MMA 10: Patrick Cote Vs Kalib Starnes Battle Saturday Night in Montreal
By Kevin Nelson
This Saturday at the Bell Center in Montreal, Ringside MMA 10 will be taking place. Not seen since the days of TKO has a local promotion other than the UFC displayed such a quality card.
The main event has Patrick Cote looking to get back in the UFC by facing fellow former UFC fighter Kalib Starnes. The co-main event was supposed to have Steve Bosse facing Roger “The Hulk” Hollett but Bosse withdrew due to an injury.
If you’re not familiar with the Canadian MMA scene, right now Canada has a lot of depth in terms of quality light heavyweights with two of its best meeting on Saturday. Other fights include Alex Garcia facing Seth Baczynski as well as Mitch Gagnon meeting Rejean Groulx. We preview the card and give our predictions.
Alex Garcia (6-0) vs. Seth Baczynski (12-6) 5 rounds – welterweight
Baczynski is coming off season 11 of the Ultimate Fighter and after being brought back on the show would lose to Brad Tavares. Since his stint on the show he has won by KO over Tim Mckenzie. Baczynski has a chance to gain the interim welterweight title after the Ringside Champ Chris Clements was injured. Baczynski has 8 submission victories in his career. Garcia is one of the brightest prospects in the welterweight division. He has destroyed his competition up until this point and I predict a KO victory for him as he will win the interim Ringside MMA Title.
Michel Gagnon (6-1) vs. Rejean Groulx (5-0) 5 rounds – Featherweight Title
6 wins and 6 submission wins for Mitch Gagnon as he has won by submission all within the first round. Gagnon is also one of the most promising fighters in this country as he has only loss to Bellator standout Will Romero. Gagnon has a Greco Roman background to go with excellent submission skills. His stand up is reckless and is open to counters but usually relies on his ground game to get a victory. Groulx is undefeated and is a tall featherweight (5’’10). He also is undefeated and is looking to put Gagnon in uncomfortable position. I see Gagnon submitting Groulx in the second round.
Roger “The Hulk” Hollett (11-3) vs. Martin” The Stress” Desilets (11-2) 3 rounds – light heavyweight
This is a matchup that features to of the best fighters not in the UFC. Desilets is a well rounded fighter who is charismatic and unpredictable. Hollett is a power punching striker. Hollett has the strength advantage and Desilets has the overall advantage on the ground.
Look for this fight to go the full three rounds with Desilets getting a decision.
Patrick Cote (13-7) vs. Kalib Starnes (12-5-1) – Main Event
Cote is coming off an 18 month layoff after having multiple knee operations. He lost two straight and was released from the UFC. A far cry from getting a title shot at Anderson Silva Cote is looking to work his way back up the rankings. His strength has long been his stand up. His reliance on the 1-2 jab straight right combos is predictable and needs to mix it up head and body. His over eagerness to strike has cost him by being easy to take down and from his back Cote simply is not that good.
Starnes’ strength is his ground game and he will be looking to do that. Starnes is very good at submissions but is very vulnerable on his feet. Make no mistake about it this is a make or break fight for both. If Starnes wins he will look to get respect after his back peddling performance in the UFC.
If Cote wins we would probably need one more win to get back in the UFC. I’m predicting Starnes by submission.