UFC 86’s undercard features a middleweight clash of styles as well as a must-win welterweight fight for both parties.

Patrick Cote and Ricardo Almeida have very different roots in the fight game. While Cote is known for powerful striking, Almeida is renowned for his ground wizardry.

Cote spent five years in the Canadian army, spending time overseas in Bosnia, while Almeida spent four years in his prime retired from the fight game, and tending to his MMA school and his family.

Now, both men are one win away from a major step up the ladder. Cote is riding a four-fight win streak, including KO’s over Kendall Grove and Drew McFedries, while Almeida hasn’t lost since 2002, a span covering seven fights.

“I’m excited,” Almeida said. “A lot of MMA seems to be about bad blood, but Patrick Cote is not a guy who is going to be out there talking with no skills and all mouth. He’s all skills, and if I want to one day fight for the title, I have to beat someone of his caliber.”

“I’m so ready to fight and it’s a true honor,” Cote said. “We have completely different styles but I’m looking forward to using my style to beat him.”

Koscheck vs. Lytle quotables
Lytle on Koscheck’s style: “I think he gets a bad rap with his style. He tries to finish people. He tries to punch them, he tries to hurt them. Well, that’s the kind of fights I want to be in. I want someone to come after me and try to hurt me. That’s what I’m going to try to do them, so I think it’s going to make for a great fight, and that’s what I want to do: fight great fights.”

Koscheck on his opponent: “I have an awesome, classy opponent. I can’t say anything bad about Chris Lytle. He’s very greatly respected in mixed martial arts, and I think it should be a great fight.”

Anderson Silva wants to stay active
UFC President Dana White said that although middleweight champion Anderson Silva will be fighting on July 19 against James Irvin in a non-title 205-pound bout, Silva is also hoping to fight on the September 6 card when UFC goes to Atlanta, and possibly one more time in December.

White said the UFC will try to grant his wish to fight on the Atlanta card, but of course it will depend on whether Silva comes out of the Irvin fight healthy enough to compete 10 weeks later.

Alves-Sanchez
White confirmed to NBCSports.com that the UFC is in talks to put together a welterweight match that would pit top contenders Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez.

Alves recently defeated legend Matt Hughes via second-round TKO while Sanchez had an impressive performance in his most recent match, a third-round TKO of Luigi Fioravanti. While many thought Alves' win would make him the No. 1 contender, it appears he will have one more roadblock before getting a title shot.

“It’s something we’re trying to put together,” White said. “That would be something to see, wouldn’t it?”

Koscheck vs. Fitch in the future?
Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch are teammates at the San Jose, California-based camp American Kickboxing Academy, and Fitch gets his opportunity to take the welterweight belt when he squares off with Georges St. Pierre in August. With Koscheck a top contender in the same division, could we see the two throw down one day in the future? Koscheck says he couldn't rule it out.

"I think we're both competitive, and I could see us training together all the way up until the fight, and then competing for the championship," he told NBCSports.com.

UFC 86 sellout
Mandalay Bay reported that there are just a few single seats left for UFC 86, making it a sellout for all intents and purposes.

The arena will hold around 12,000 fans on Saturday night for a live gate of over $3 million.

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