Anderson Silva vs. Patrcik Cote
In the main event of the evening, Pound for Pound number one contender Anderson “The Spider” Silva defends his UFC Middleweight Title against Canadian contender Patrick “The Predator” Cote. While Cote is certainly a good fighter, the fact that he is getting a title shot is more a testament to Silva’s dominance of the division than it is to Cote’s merits inside the Octagon.
Cote’s disadvantages going into this fight are many. For one thing, he is noticably smaller than his opponent, who endures a nearly superhuman weight cut to make the Middleweight limit of 185 pounds. In addition to his size disadvantage, Cote is also inferior to Silva in the conditioning department, and will not be able to hang around if the fight makes it to later rounds. Most importantly, though, Cote has a massive disadvantage in the stylistic matchup. Primarily a striker, Cote has powerful hands and a decent chin. Unlike most strikers in MMA, though, Cote does not fare well in boxing exchanges. Rather, he likes to bully his opponents around, getting in the clinch and then scoring hard shots as he pushes out.
Needless to say, Anderson Silva’s clinch is not a place any rational human being willingly enters. Rich Franklin, who proved he was still a dangerous fighter with a recent win over the talented Matt Hamill at Light Heavyweight, learned this the hard way, enduring two brutal destructions in that exact position. Bear in mind that Franklin is a superior striker to Cote, and that unlike Cote he does not need to get in close to dole out damage, and it becomes pretty clear that Cote is going to be in for a long night.
If Silva’s game has one hole, it is on the ground. While he is an accomplished grappler, he has shown a weakness to takedowns and guard passes in some of his recent fights, notably against Dan Henderson and Travis Lutter. Cote, though, is not nearly on the same level as either of those men, and so his one hope of victory is pretty much unattainable. Look for Silva to live up to his nickname, drawing Cote in and then snaring him before the kill.
It’s entirely possible the fighter introductions will be longer than the fight is. Silva by utter destruction in Round 1.
