“This is an obvious pick” you say… All signs point to an easy Silva victory. His vast arsenal of knees, kicks, elbows and punches will make this fight, to quote Ricardo Arona (which I may never do again), “fun on the feet”. The Spider also has a significant advantage in ground skill as well, as he is good at avoiding damage from the bottom and looking for submissions from there.

So why do I think Cote is winning this fight? He has alot going for him. Consider these points:

  • Styles make fights. Cote has solid footwork and ridiculous power in his fists. Also, he has never been rocked, fazed, or stunned. Hell, he’s never even had his dinner interrupted by a telemarketer. Thats how unflappable he is.
  • He lost to Travis “Footsteps” Lutter. If that simple fact doesn’t motivate Cote for the rest of his career, then OJ didn’t do it and our economy is flourishing.
  • He has a cool name. Patrick Cote. Go ahead, say it out loud. Aren’t you glad I’m here?
  • Dude is CONFIDENT. Cote wont want anything to do with Ando on the ground, so he’ll be forced to bang with him. If he uses his footwork to throw punches from odd angles, I think he’ll do fine on his feet. It will also be interesting to see how he does in the clinch, as his highlight reel KO of Kendall Grove happened from there. Then again, Anderson’s knees might have an appointment with Patrick’s face, too. It’ll be fascinating to say the least.
  • There’s just something in the air about this fight. I feel the exact same way I did before Mark Coleman fought Shogun Rua. I think the UFC is getting a little carried away with the Anderson hype. He’s a wonderful fighter, but he certainly isn’t invincible.

The verdict: this will be an absolute beauty of a fight. Cote will dance around for awhile before landing a few big blows and narrowly eeking out a five round decision win to take Anderson’s belt.