UFC 140 Fight Card: What Claude Patrick Gains With a Win

Claude Patrick returns to the Octagon at UFC 140, which will be his first bout since defeating Daniel Roberts at UFC 129.

Patrick made quite a name for himself along the Canadian MMA circuit, but is a relative unknown in the UFC.

Since making his UFC debut, the Canadian fighter has won three straight fights.

Patrick is stepping in on short notice for Rory MacDonald, and will be taking on Brian Ebersole.

You may remember Ebersole being the guy who performed cartwheel kicks in his debut against Chris Lytle and the guy with an arrow shaved in his chest.

But for all his shenanigans, Ebersole is a tough and durable veteran fighter that is a handful for anyone.

Patrick's best chance at defeating the savvy vet is by getting the fight to the mat where he can use his submission game to full effect.

It won't be easy and if Patrick pulls out a victory, he should be in line for a main card slot on a future UFC PPV.

Patrick needs a convincing win to put him on the map for American fans as the UFC is in America far more than they are in Canada.

He doesn't want to be delegated as a local fighter the UFC only calls when they come to town and beating a guy like Ebersole would launch him into the middle of the pack in the UFC welterweight division.

Ebersole hasn't been knocked out in 64 professional bouts, so Patrick shouldn't waste his time attempting to stand with "TWAS."

Now with that being said, if Patrick were to win by KO, he should be pushed to face one of the upper level talents given the fact he just KO'd someone who's never been knocked unconscious and he will have a four-UFC fight winning streak.

Patrick has the submission skills to neutralize some of the dominant wrestlers that litter the welterweight landscape. He just needs to make a big enough bang to catch Dana White's and the fans' attention.

Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 140. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the December 10 fight card, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage, results and post-fight analysis.