"I lost the fight, but he didn't beat me so I feel like it's unfinished business between me and SilvaÂ…I will probably be back in August. I want a big fight right away. I want a big name right away; like a top 5 or top 10 guy. I want to have another title fight as soon as possible. Like I said, the thing between me and Anderson Silva is not finished and I can't wait to be in the Octagon again with him," stated UFC middleweight contender Patrick Cote as he talked about his recovery from knee surgery and his eagerness to get back inside the Octagon for another shot at the title. Check it out!
PC: It's been awhile since I've seen you come on record. So how is the knee doing?
PC: The knee is doing good. I can't wait to get back in the Octagon.
PC: What's the training regimen like right now? What are you allowed to do?
PC: Right now, I'm just training conditioning. I've been back in the gym for 2 months now, but it's just conditioning and swimming. I can't do any fight training until probably the end of April.
PC: You were on a nice winning streak, earned yourself a title shot and lost the fight because your knee blew out. How devastating was that for you?
PC: For sure it was very hard. It was just a bad time. Like I said, I lost the fight, but he didn't beat me so I feel like it's unfinished business between me and Silva.
PC: I know it's still awhile away, but have you discussed the caliber of fighter you would like to come back against with the UFC?
PC: I will probably be back in August. I want a big fight right away. I want a big name right away; like a top 5 or top 10 guy. I want to have another title fight as soon as possible. Like I said, the thing between me and Anderson Silva is not finished and I can't wait to be in the Octagon again with him. Maybe one or two fights and then I want another title shot for sure.
PC: Do you feel like at some point in that fight, you took Silva's best shot and you were starting to come on since your confidence had grown?
PC: I ate a couple of good shots (laughing). I was in the fight, you know? I felt good and our gameplan was a good gameplan and I wanted to open up in the 3rd round because we knew he hadn't seen the 3rd round since 2004. We were exactly where we wanted to be, but we just had bad luck.
PC: You were the first guy to extend Silva into the 3rd round and at times, had him guessing on your next move. No one gave you a chance in that fight. What chances do you give Thales Leitas?
PC: I think with my fight against Silva, I proved to everybody that Silva is human. I think everybody who is going to fight him now will be a little more relaxed because of what I did against Silva. I don't think he could beat Silva with the skills. This guy is so good and unorthodox. He has a very weird style. You need a good gameplan to beat this guy and get the win. You could beat this guy with a good gameplan like we had in my fight against him. Nobody is unbeatable and Thales has a chance of beating him, but it's going to be hard.
PC: The 185-pound division used to be known as one of the weaker divisions in the UFC. Now it is stacked with talent. What do you think of the talent pool in the middleweight division now?
PC: I'm so happy now that the division is so stacked. They just signed a new Japanese fighter, Denis Kang is in the UFC and Alan Belcher; a lot of good guys. Now Vitor Belfort is a free agent; maybe the UFC will sign him. I would be the first one to fight this guy if the UFC signs him. I'm very happy that the middleweight division in the UFC is very strong now. It's all good now for all middleweights in the UFC and I'm very happy that they have stacked the division.
PC: A fight between you and Belfort has fireworks written all over it.
PC: Yeah, for sure. I used to watch this guy when I started in this business. He's one of my favorite fighters. If I'm able to fight this guy, it would be a real honor for me and I'm looking forward to see if the UFC will sign him. I would really look forward to that fight for sure.
PC: I wish you a speedy recovery my man. Good luck in your return later this year. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
PC: Thanks for the support. I want to thank my fans; they are awesome. I receive a lot of emails and messages on my Facebook with support. Everybody is supporting me and they can't wait for my comeback so I just want to say thanks to everybody that supports me!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]