Patrick Cote, as originally reported by MMAWeekly.com, is making the drop to welterweight in his next fight. And now we know that he’ll be able to do it on the UFC 158 fight card on March 16 in Montreal, as he had hoped.

“We’ve been thinking about it since about a year now. I think now it’s the time,” Cote told MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday.

Cote had originally intended to stay at 185 pounds for one more fight when the UFC tried to put together a rematch with Alessio Sakara for UFC 158. When Sakara had to decline the fight due to kidney related health concerns, Cote finally pulled the trigger to drop down to welterweight, hopeful to remain on the Montreal fight card.

UFC Canadian officials on Friday confirmed that Cote would remain on the card. He is slated to welcome former Strikeforce fighter Bobby Voelker to the Octagon at the Bell Centre.

With Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker on Thursday finally confirming that the promotion will put on its final event on Jan. 12 in Oklahoma, Voelker becomes the latest Strikeforce combatant to migrate to the UFC.

He hasn’t seen action since July, but Voelker is currently in the midst of a three-fight winning streak that he’ll put on the line in Montreal.

Cote has struggled since returning to the UFC. He lost a unanimous decision to Cung Le in July and then was seemingly knocked out by Sakara last month at UFC 154. The Sakara result was changed to a disqualification win for Cote after it was determined that the knockout came via several illegal blows to the back of the head.

The former light heavyweight and now former middleweight will now get the chance to reinvent himself once again, this time at 170 pounds.

Georges St-Pierre headlines the UFC 158 fight card, putting his welterweight championship on the line against Nick Diaz.

Stay tuned to MMAWeekly.com for all the latest UFC 158 news and fight coverage.