After UFC 89 last week in England, Zuffa and Co. hopped back across the pond for UFC 90: Silva vs Cote this Saturday in Rosemont, IL. Once again we get the chance to watch a fighter many consider the best mixed martial artist in the sport today.
Anderson Silva vs Patrick Cote – I’m not really sure what or how to discuss this fight. The overwhelming consensus is that there is not a single fighter at 185 lbs. who can stand in the cage with Silva and walk out a winner. Patrick Cote is no different.
The last person to truly defeat Silva was Ryo Chonan back in 2004 and even then it took a spectacular flying heel hook to get the job done. Sure, sure, Okami won a fight against Silva in 2006 but that was only due to disqualification by an illegal kick from Silva. The fact remains, we all know Silva’s strengths and apparent lack of weaknesses. “The Spider” holds a clear advantage in every aspect of this fight.
To his credit, Patrick Cote has enjoyed a bit of resurgence in his career as of late, racking up a nice five fight win streak. In all reality however, Cote is only getting this title shot because of the vast lack of depth in the UFC middleweight division. Had Cote lost to Ricardo Almeida at UFC 86, Almeida would be getting this title shot in only his third fight back after a four year layoff. Cote has power and good striking but not on Anderson Silva’s level. Winner: Anderson Silva
Josh Koscheck vs Thiago Alves – Josh Koscheck comes into this fight with Thiago Alves as a late replacement for the injured Diego Sanchez. All three fighters have to be considered near the top of the heap in the UFC welterweight division and this matchup will be a tough battle for both fighters. We all know how good Koscheck’s wrestling game is, but he also has a very deceptive, technical striking game that he can utilize. Alves specializes in his raw power and up tempo striking attack with a solid compliment of knees and kicks. On the ground, I’d have to give the edge to Koscheck and we’ve seen that Kos is able to take down pretty much anyone other than Georges St. Pierre. If Thiago can keep the fight standing I think he can will win this fight; but if and when Koscheck gets Alves to the ground it could be a long night for “The Pitbull.” Winner: Josh Koscheck
Rich Clementi vs Gray Maynard – Rich Clementi has found his second win since his appearance on season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter. Clementi has won 8 of his last 9 fights including wins over Sam Stout, Melvin Guillard and Anthony Johnson. Clementi always brings a tough aggressiveness and fighting style that can give any opponent fits. The improvement in Gray Maynard’s game since his appears on season 5 of TUF can not be underestimated either however. Training with Xtreme Couture has done wonders for Maynard’s game and he is a quickly rising star in the lightweight division. Maynards ground game is just too tough for Clementi to handle and he should win this fight via decision. Winner: Gray Maynard
Fabricio Werdum vs Junior dos Santos – With back-to-back wins over Gabriel Gonzaga and Fabricio Werdum, the general consensus was that Werdum was at the top of the list for a title shot. That was before Randy Couture decided to return to the UFC and Frank Mir was named a coach on The Ultimate Fighter Series. The fact of the matter is the UFC probably doesn’t want Werdum to get a shot at the title due to his perceived “boring” fighting style and lack of name recognition. Still, Werdum is an excellent fighter with some notable victories on his record and still should be considered near the top of the UFC heavyweight division. Junior dos Santos is making his UFC debut after fighting on the local circuits in Brazil. Santos brings a solid BJJ game and decent striking to the cage but should not offer much of a deterrent to Werdum. Winner: Fabricio Werdum
Sean Sherk vs Tyson Griffin – In his last couple of fights, we’ve seen Sean Sherk show a willingness to stand and trade punches instead of relying on his wrestling game. Look for more of the same in this fight as both fighters have excellent wrestling skills that will largely negate one another. Griffin doesn’t mind standing and striking either and I think both these fighters will keep the fight standing if possible. Since receiving his first career loss at UFC 67, Griffin was won three unanimous decision victories. Sherk’s last fight was a TKO loss to B.J. Penn at UFC 84 after sitting out nearly a full year due to suspension. I think these two are pretty evenly matched but I’m going to have to give the edge to Sherk due to experience and brute strength and a better ground control game if the fight does hit the mat. Winner: Sean Sherk
Thales Leites vs Drew McFedries – Winner: Thales Leites
Spencer Fisher vs Shannon Gugerty – Winner: Spencer Fisher
Dan Miller vs Matt Horwich – Winner: Matt Horwich
Hermes Franca vs Marcus Aurelio – Winner: Hermes Franca
Josh Burkman vs Pete Sell – Winner: Josh Burkman
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Once again, a UFC fight card that is decent at best. Is there really not one fighter @ 185lbs or even 205lbs that can be fighting Silva INSTEAD of Cote? give me a break!!!
Theres no denying that Anderson is ONE of the top 3 pound for pound fighters in the world, but when the UFC keeps insisting that he is numero uno…it makes them lose their credibility and they just seem to keep doing this over and over again. I’m a big Silva fan but I’ll be the first to admit that he never gives any direct answers to one of the most important questions he is always asked…”are you going to fight at 205lbs. again?”
fact is, the UFC can and should be putting him in the cage with much better competition ESPECIALLY if he plans on retiring sometime soon. Basically, Cote has no chance.
I agree with you somewhat Amir.. except im not sure who you want to fight Anderson at 185. He has beaten everyone (in the UFC) at 185, any tough opponent would be a rematch for him. Fighting guys at 205 was an interesting move, but he said he plans to retire soon so theres not much point moving up anyways..
Not much point to moving up? it makes all the point to move up. He talks about a desire to make dream fights happen…it’s obvious that won’t at 185lbs., which historically has never been the best division to begin with.
Yet, Dana continues to questions Fedor’s level of competition? that’s pure hypocracy.
I just get the feeling that much like in the past, the UFC is NOT really making the fights we all want to see. We all assumed that after the Pride acquisition, it was only inevitable that they would start putting on super fights, mathematically there was no way for them not to. Yet, we continue to have mediocre PPV fight cards like this.
Josh Koscheck?
Gray Maynard?
Sean Sherk?
Tyson Griffin?
Fabricio Werdum?
I mean, gimme a break..nothing but boring wrestlers…most of whom should be relegated to Ultimate Fight Nights NOT PPV cards. I expect a very boring undercard. If I had to choose between this crappy event and any Affliction event, I would obviously choose Affliction.
Like i said Amir, i agree with almost everything your saying, im always complaining about the UFC matchmaking like almost everyone does. Though i disagree with some of the stuff your saying.
All those guys you mentioned are good fighters man, you might see them as boring wrestlers, but this is MMA. If a guy like Sherk or Kos can control you for 3 rounds, too bad.. maybe work on your wrestling to compete with them on the ground. If a guy like Werdum can control you using his BJJ, then too bad etc.. As im sure you know, in the classic matchup of striker vs grappler, the grappler wins 9 out of 10 times. So when you think about it, wrestling/BJJ are far superior to any striking discipline out there.
Thats why someone like Anderson Silva is so great, hes got that striking ability that people love to see, but hes amazing on the ground aswell even submitting Lutter whos a highly acclaimed BJJ guy.
About Anderson moving up to 205, it sounds great to me, but i would also like to see Urijah Faber move up to 155 which is only 10 pounds and he refuses to do it. Anderson has to move up 20 pounds to fight guys who are cutting weight to make 205 and these guys walk around at 220+. If hes comitted to the 205 transition, thats up to Anderson, the UFC can only push him so much.
I think he would rather finish off his career at 185 being the most dominant MW fighter of all time regardless of organizations and retire as the Champ. Hes also not happy about the money, hes also not happy about the amount of times he fights in a year. Right now hes got 6 fights left on his contract SIX FIGHTS! thats alot man, so hes risking life and limb at 205 for the same money.
Doesnt make much sense if you ask me and i can see his reasoning for staying at 185. Like Anderson said, he doesnt have anything to prove to anyone, he doesnt have to move up to fight the best in the world. Hes already fought the best in the world at 185 man..
Here we go.. I got this one as a decision for Sherk..
The Sherk vs Griffin fight was excellent from start to finish. 15 minutes of action between to aggressive and evenly matched fighters
Oh hell ya doc! i was very surprised by that one pure slugfest, probably fight of the night.
no kidding, im liking Sherks new approach to fighting its so much more fun to watch.
I agree, I think he is finally realizing that in order to keep your contract in the UFC these days, it’s not just about W’s and L’s but about what you did to lodge your name and face into the memories of fans worldwide. Great fighting means standing and trading and delivering along with grappling, so good for him, I think if Sherk gets a bit more stand up going, he will have another shot to wear the belt in a year or so. He look a littel deflated in this fight physically.
BV Who do you have for Silva V Cote?
hehe truce, ya i got Silva 2nd round TKO, some great fights so far huh? wow! surprising outcomes so far.
Aw man… talk about anti climactic…
wow man, can you say bummer or what? i was sitting here just saying “F*CK! DAMN IT!” that could have turned out to be such a great fight.
Yep… that is a terrible way to end a fight, even though Anderson was playing with Patrick you know it would stink to be those guys right now, i wonder where Dana is at… probably thinking about “damage control”. I haven’t seen him around in a long while talking before and after fights or making his BIG announcements, looks like the Fertittas have really side lined him for the most part as far as inter fight participation, you only see him at the pressers now.
I wonder whats next for A. Silva?
Sounds like they were talking about giving Cote a rematch.. hope Okami gets his shot before that happens.. Imagine how Cote is feeling right now, for something like that to happen in whats been his biggest opportunity ever! and that includes his old fight vs Tito.
Yeah, I don’t think Cote deserves a rematch, his fight looked like a puppy trying to take on his master, I mean Anderson gave him the courtesy of not killing him in the first round, but I think A. Silva could have done just that.
lol thats funny, Joe Rogan explained the beard because the internet fanboys were talking lol.
yea tribute to Evan Tanner
Can any of you imagine if you’d have paid to fly in and attend this card? Nuts, I would be tearing my hair out for it right now. “ANT-CLIMATIC” is a perfect word to describe the culmination of fights.
Fight of the night for me was Alves V KOS – absolutely edge of your seat action from start to finish.