LAS VEGAS - Montreal middleweight Patrick (The Predator) Cote won an unspectacular split decision over Ricardo (Big Dog) Almeida on Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC 86 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Two judges scored the mixed martial arts fight 29-28 for the Canadian while the third had it 29-28 for Almeida, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

The fight was billed as a classic striker (Cote) versus grappler (Almeida) matchup. But in the first round, it was Cote who was absorbing punches on his back from a standing Almeida, who needed a tape touchup on a split glove after the round.

Almeida tried to pull guard in the second round, managing one unsuccessful triangle choke attempt. Cote did not connect with many punches but did catch Almeida with a right to the chin as the bell rang. Almeida (9-3) seemed to fade as the fight went on. Cote came on slightly in a third round that drew boos.

Cote (14-4) has now won his last four fights in the UFC, but two by knockout. And the victory, while underwhelming, may get him a title shot later in the year.

The co-main event preceded the light-heavyweight title fight between Quinton (Rampage) Jackson and challenger Forrest Griffin, a 205-pound matchup featuring the coaches on Season 7 of "The Ultimate Fighter".

Jackson's basic purse was US$225,000 plus a $100,000 win bonus, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Griffin's purse was $150,000 plus a $100,000 win bonus. The purses do not necessarily contain other bonuses included in fighter contracts.

Earlier, welterweight Chris (Light's Out) Lytle took a bloody beating in losing a decision to Josh Koscheck, who carved his forehead open with his elbows during a protracted and brutal ground-and-pound session in the second round. Despite the damage and needing help to get to his stool, Lytle amazingly answered the bell for the third.

When the fight ended, Lytle - his face a scarlet mask and with blood spattered all over his torso - was still swinging wildly and the cage floor was in bad need of a cleanup. Lytle, an Indianapolis firefighter with a record of 35-16-4, had a cut on the bridge on the nose and a giant gash over his right eye that looked like someone had taken a box cutter to his head. There was so much blood that Koscheck's dyed blond hair was tinged pink by the end.

The judges scored the fight 30-26, 30-28 and 29-27 for Koscheck (13-2). One gave the third round to Koscheck, one to Lytle and the third gave each fighter the 10 points for winning the round.

Lightweight Joe (Daddy) Stevenson (34-8) had his hands full with Gleison Tibau (27-5) before locking one of his trademark guillotine chokes at 2:47 of the second round after the bigger Tibau gave up his head trying to take him down.

Lightweight Tyson Griffin, with disgruntled heavyweight champion Randy Couture in his corner, looked dominant in winning a decision over Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Marcus (Maximus) Aurelio. Aurelio (16-6) had no answers on his feet to Griffin (12-1), who chopped away at his legs with kicks and battered his face with punches.

The stocky Griffin did flirt with danger whenever he took Aurelio down, but managed to avoid submissions while doing damage from above.

On the preliminary card, heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga (9-3) ended a two-fight losing streak by submitting Justin (The Insane 1) McCully via kimura at 1:57 of the first round. McCully (8-4-2) was outmuscled and outmatched.

The smash-and-grab win should move Gonzaga back up the heavyweight ladder. The Massachusetts-based Brazilian upset Mirko (Cro Cop) Filipovic at UFC 70 to earn a mixed martial arts title shot against Couture. The champion smashed Gonzaga's nose early on and went on to score a third-round TKO at UFC 74. Gonzaga lost next time out, to Fabricio Werdum at UFC 80 in January.

Lanky lightweight Cole Miller showed impressive submission skills, forcing jiu-jitsu black belt Jorge Gurgel to tap out to a triangle choke with just 12 seconds remaining in an entertaining bout. Gurgel did not go quickly, hanging on as long as he could with the seconds ticking down.

"Not bad for a purple belt," said Miller (14-3).

The two fighters had slugged it out earlier, with both men's faces showing the effects. A determined Gurgel (16-4) seemed headed for the win after taking a tiring Miller down several times in the third until Miller tied him up like a pretzel in an early contender for fight of the night. Two of the three judges gave the first two rounds to Gurgel while the third had it one round apiece.

Lightweight Melvin (The Young Assassin) Guillard showed his knockout power by stopping Dennis Siver (11-6) in just 36 seconds, hammering the German with a string of punches to the face after flooring him with a right. Guillard, who had lost his last two UFC fights in rapid-fire fashion to Rich Clementi and Joe Stevenson, improved to 40-8-3. Lightweight Justin Buchholz (9-2) took advantage of the inexperience of Corey Hill (2-1), reversing ground position to win by rear naked choke at 3:57 of the second round.

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