McGee-Jensen, Cote-Lawlor to Air Live on Spike TV

Two UFC 121 preliminary bouts will air live on Spike TV Oct. 21 at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT during a one-hour broadcast prior to the event’s pay-per-view, the cable network announced on Thursday.

During the live cable broadcast, “The Ultimate Fighter 11” winner Court McGee will face Ryan Jensen in a middleweight bout, while French Canadian Patrick Cote returns to the Octagon to meet Tom Lawlor in a second 185-pound bout.

McGee, a 24-year-old recovering drug addict, submitted Kris McCray in the second round at “The Ultimate Fighter 11” Finale on June 19 in Las Vegas to capture the TV show’s title. McGee recently joined John Hackleman’s Pit fighting team in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and has only one loss on his career docket -- a unanimous decision defeat to the perennial Jeremy Horn in 2007.

Omaha, Neb., native Jensen earned “Submission of the Night” honors for his 76-second guillotine choke of Jesse Forbes at UFC 114 last May in Las Vegas. The 33-year-old veteran has gone 2-1 in his last three Octagon appearances, dropping a first-round TKO loss to wrestler Mark Munoz at UFC 108 in January and earning a first-round submission victory over Steve Steinbess at UFC Fight Night 19 last September.

A teammate to UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, Cote will look to right the ship following a second-round submission loss to Alan Belcher at UFC 113 last May in Montreal. The bout marked the 30-year-old striker’s first performance in 19 months after Cote was sidelined with a knee injury and underwent surgery. In 2007, Cote strung together a five-fight win streak and unsuccessfully challenged middleweight king Anderson Silva at UFC 90 in October 2008.

Known for his creative weigh-ins and walk-in shtick, Lawlor will attempt to put the brakes on a two-fight losing streak, after dropping a close spilt decision to All-American wrestler Aaron Simpson last January and getting caught by seasoned vet Joe Doerksen via rear-naked choke at UFC 113 in May. The 28-year-old Massachusetts native’s more notable wins include TUF graduate C.B. Dollaway and Kyle Kingsbury.

UFC 121 will be anchored by a heavyweight championship bout between champion Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez.