Shortly after the announcement of the UFC 158 rematch between Alessio Sakara and Patrick "The Predator" Côté, Sakara was forced to withdraw from the bout for health reasons.Perhaps inspired by the welterweight lineup on the rest of the card, Cote then announced that he would be moving to 170 pounds. Montrealer Cote has verbally agreed to make his divisional debut at that event against "Vicious" Bobby Voelker.
GSP vs. Diaz Heads Up WW Tripleheader on Mar. 16 in Montreal
updated December 15
Fresh off unifying the welterweight title in November following an 18-month absence due to injury, UFC® welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre returns to Montreal’s Bell Centre on March 16, 2013 to face former STRIKEFORCE® champion Nick Diaz. St-Pierre (23-2) has scored 10 consecutive victories in his dominant reign atop the 170-pound division but no other opponent has motivated him as much as the fiery and unpredictable Diaz.In addition to St-Pierre-Diaz, four more of the UFC®’s top-10 welterweights will clash at the Bell Centre while one fighter gets a shot at redemption following a controversial disqualification loss at the same venue just four months removed.
With his recent dominating win over legend BJ Penn, Rory MacDonald (14-1) looks to avenge his only career loss against former interim UFC welterweight champion Carlos Condit (28-6). The pair met at UFC® 115 in a bout that saw Condit come from behind and register a third-round TKO win with mere seconds remaining.
Not to be overshadowed, title-hungry Johny Hendricks (14-1), coming off his recent Montreal knockout win over welterweight Martin Kampmann, will be looking to cement his place as number one contender as he meets the always-dangerous Jake Ellenberger (28-6).
Adding to the evening action will be middleweight Alessio Sakara (19-10, 1 NC), who gets a shot at revenge against hometown favorite Patrick Côté (19-8). The pair met at UFC® 154 in Montreal in a bout that saw Sakara suffer a disqualification loss for landing multiple strikes to the back of Côté’s head.