Patrick Cote vs. Alessio Sakara UFC 158 Rematch Scratched; Sakara Sidelined

The announced UFC 158 rematch between Patrick Cote and Alessio Sakara is off the card before the Mike Goldberg’s words during the TUF 16 Finale broadcast have even had a chance to fade away.

Although the UFC announced the fight on Saturday night’s broadcast and in a subsequent press release confirming a stacked triple bill of welterweight contender bouts at the top of the card, Sakara on Sunday revealed that he would be physically unable to compete on the March 16 fight card in Montreal.

Sakara posted on his Facebook page that his doctor informed him that he must stop fighting for the near future due to renal stress. With the shape his kidneys are currently in, the Italian fighter noted that he’s not even supposed to train for the next three months, which would give him not time to prepare for the fight even if he did manage to gain doctor’s clearance by March 16.

The two originally fought at UFC 154 in November in Montreal.

Sakara initially thought he had become the first fight to knock Cote out, but was eventually disqualified when the referee determined that he had landed several illegal strikes to the back of the Canadian’s head.

Sakara’s management contested the ruling, but to no avail.

Sakara said he is hopeful to have the fight scheduled again for a later date once his kidneys recover.

Georges St-Pierre puts his UFC welterweight belt on the line in a controversial match-up with the currently suspended Nick Diaz in the UFC 158 main event on March 16, 2013, at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

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