Cote, Aubin-Mercier, Davis emerge victorious on UFC 186 prelims

Patrick Cote def. Joe Riggs via unanimous decision

In a bout that seems out of place on a UFC card in 2015, Patrick Cote outworked fellow veteran Joe Riggs en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Although Cote didn't dominate Riggs by any stretch of the imagination, "The Predator" simply did more than "Diesel" for much of the 15 minute scrap, repeatedly escaping Riggs clutches on the floor to land busy (but definitely not devastating) ground-and-pound shots.

Riggs was able to secure Cote's back on multiple occasions, but really couldn't do much with the advantage and the Canadian was able to scramble free time and time again.

It wasn't awe-inspiring - or even remotely interesting - but the performance allowed Cote to return to the win column in front of his home crowd in Montreal.

Alexis Davis def. Sarah Kaufman via second-round submission (armbar)

Third times the charm for Alexis Davis.

Davis had already lost twice to Sarah Kaufman, and things didn't look great after the opening round of their bout Saturday night.

Kaufman lumped up Davis on the feet for six minutes, but Davis violently turned the tide a minute and a half into the second stanza, tossing Kaufman to the mat from the clinch, before working for a triangle choke.

When she couldn't lock up the triangle, Davis slickly transitioned to arm-bar, eliciting the tap at 1:52 of the round.

Unfortunately, referee Jerin Valel wasn't in the correct position and Davis had to crank Kaufman's arm longer than necessary.

Chad Laprise def. Bryan Barberena via unanimous decision 

It wasn't easy, but Chad Laprise used his superior technical striking to gut out a decision victory against Bryan Barberena.

It looked as though Laprise was going to absolutely run roughshod over Barberena in the opening frame, as the Canadian put on a kickboxing clinic, piecing up Barberena on the feet and spamming head kicks once he had his opponent worrying about body shots.

Laprise slowed considerably in the final two rounds, allowing Barberena to climb back into the bout by turning things ugly and unleashing an aggressive, clinch-heavy attack.

In the waning moments of the 15-minute affair, both men threw caution to the wind, and Laprise threw an array of spinning back kicks/fists while "Bam Bam" answered with heavy leather of his own.

Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. David Michaud via third-round submission (rear-naked choke)

Olivier Aubin-Mercier showed off his grappling wizardry in the opening bout of the FS1 prelims, notching the fifth rear-naked choke finish of his career against David Michaud.

It was a spirited affair, with each man gaining the upper hand in periods, though Aubin-Mercier was in the driver seat for much of the 13-minute bout, and even dropped Michaud with a vicious body kick in the second stanza, but wasn't able to finish with the ensuing onslaught.

Aubin-Mercier showed off his slick grappling skills in the final round, easily establishing back control, before applying a body triangle and eventually sinking in a deep, fight-ending rear naked choke.

Very impressive stuff from the 26-year-old Canadian.