Cote sent packing following UFC 121 loss

Former No. 1 middleweight contender and "The Ultimate Fighter 4" middleweight finalist Patrick Cote was released from his UFC contract, he Tweeted on Wednesday, following his unanimous decision loss to Tom Lawlor last Saturday at UFC 121.

I had a little hope but finally got the release word from the UFC .. Its been a awesome experience ! I ll be back !!

Cote is riding a three-fight losing streak, having lost to Anderson Silva at UFC 90, Alan Belcher at UFC 113 and Lawlor last Saturday. The long layoff between the Silva and Belcher fights was due to a knee injury.

Cote earned his middleweight title shot with a five-fight winning streak (with four of those wins in the UFC) but never seemed the same following the knee surgery.

Cote holds wins over Scott Smith, Jason Day, Kendall Grove and Ricardo Almeida in his career.