Products You May Like
As expected, Anderson Silva successfully defended his UFC middleweight title against heavy underdog Patrick Cote in the UFC 90 main event at Allstate Arena. What no one saw coming was the ending, as a competitive fight ended prematurely when Cote blew out his knee in the third round, awarding the bout to Silva via TKO.
The win was Silva’s eighth in the UFC against no losses, and his fourth successful title defense. And contrary to what oddsmakers believed prior to the match, Cote was no easy mark for the pound for pound king.
Cote calmly stalked in the early going, moving his head side to side to avoid getting hit with a quick KO punch or kick. With under two minutes left, the crowd and Cote started getting restless, and the Canadian attacked wildly. Silva avoided serious trouble and fired back with a knee to the chin that Cote took well.
Silva struck early in round two, first with a jarring left to the head. Moments later the two briefly locked up against the fence, but after breaking, Silva kept the pressure on, eventually forcing Cote to the canvas. While there, Cote stayed busy with strikes from the bottom, and the two stood up seconds later. Silva was seemingly toying with the challenger, but Cote was all business as he shot for two takedowns, both of which were rebuffed.
Both fighters closed the distance quickly to start round three, but just as suddenly, as Cote planted his foot to move in on the champion, he buckled his right knee and fell to the canvas in pain. After making an attempt to rise, he fell again, and referee Herb Dean had no choice but to stop the fight at the 39 second mark.
WATCH ON UFC FIGHT PASS