Cote Drops To Welterweight After Talk With Coaches, Nutritionist

Patrick Cote vs. Alessio Sakara

Cote drops to welterweight

Another change of plans for Patrick Cote.

Just a few days after news broke that Alessio Sakara was out of his UFC 158 rematch with "The Predator," Cote is relinquishing his status as a middleweight and making the move to the welterweight division.

Cote announced the news on Tuesday.

After a year of thinking and good talk with my coaches and nutritionnist,its time, my next fight will be at 170 Thanks for the support #UFC

— patrick cote (@patrick_cote) December 19, 2012

UFC 158 takes place on March 16 in Montreal.

The former middleweight top contender last fought at UFC 154 against Sakara in a highly controversial affair.

The fight was stopped in the opening round after a downed Cote took over half a dozen shots to the back of the head. At first, Sakara appeared to be the winner, but the referee's decision was much different.

Instead, Sakara was disqualified due to the illegal strikes, and Cote was declared the winner.

UFC president Dana White, furious at the officiating in the fight, quickly moved to make the rematch happen. But kidney issues have Sakara out of action until next year.

No word yet from the UFC on who Cote will meet in his debut as a UFC welterweight. According to MMAjunkie.com, a search is underway for an opponent for Cote in order to keep him on the March card.

Check out all our UFC 158 news