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Sun Oct 26, 2008 12:42 am EDT

Silva re-invents himself as 'the jerk' ... Cote injured in the third round

By Steve Cofield

Between Anderson Silva acting the fool for much of the fight and a fluke leg injury to Patrick Cote, the UFC 90 main event was a disaster. The UFC middleweight champ Silva won by 'TKO' when Cote (13-5, 4-4 UFC) could no longer continue with an injured right knee in the third round.

But the story of the night was Silva (23-4, 8-0 UFC) turning off the crowd by clowning around for the first 10 minutes. Between dancing around the cage, twirling his hands, bowing disrespectfully towards Cote at the end of the first and at one point offering a hand to help Cote off the floor, Silva came off as a big jerk. He went from displaying a Muhammed Ali-like playful aura early in the fight to looking like he was sticking it to the UFC for matching him up against such a longshot.

It was particularly embarrassing in the cage during the post-fight interview with UFC color man Joe Rogan, who said on three different occasions that it was, "a very entertaining fight."  The booing fans weren't buying it.   

Did Silva put on a pleasing show for the fans with his slickness or did he resemble something closer to an NFL wide receiver? It's especially insulting to those who bought tickets in Chicago or shelled out bucks for the pay-per-view. The show hadn't exactly delivered a night of fireworks prior to the main event.

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191 Comments

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  1. Nicholas
    1. Posted by Nicholas Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:37 pm EDT

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    watch how much the buyrate goes up with silva as the "bad guy" - marketing genius?
  2. Nick M
    2. Posted by Nick M Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:52 pm EDT

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    Whats the man suppose to do. There isn't anyone that can challenge him. Is he suppose to take someone like cote seriously? No. Rich Franklin wouldn't even take cote seriously. Just match him up with St. Pierre already. Everyone keeps saying the middle weight division isn't weak...well it is. Stop trying to deny it. Its weak because Silva is so dominate. No light heaveyweight can handle him either. So either your gona have to put him against another champion or keep putting him up against weak opponents. The dancing and show boating was more entertaining this the pathetic cote.
  3. john v
    3. Posted by john v Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:38 pm EDT

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    Agree...very disappointing card all together. Sherk fight was good, and seeing Kos get beat down was good, but nothing great. Heavyweight fight was a joke, the Bully fight was good for ground, but not much else, and the main event, sleeper.
  4. kevin s
    4. Posted by kevin s Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:30 pm EDT

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    alves
  5. Farthammer
    5. Posted by Farthammer Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:07 pm EDT

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    Maybe he read your blog from yesterday and was just working on his personality/media-savvy.
    Another sub-par PPV. Glad I didn't pay for it. The Sherk and Alves fights were cool, but there were a few quick ones and the main event blew.
  6. jhh39701
    6. Posted by jhh39701 Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:34 pm EDT

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    Hey folk it doesnt matter how you win as long as you get the w.
  7. Slider
    7. Posted by Slider Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:48 pm EDT

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    this is all we get as far as a description of the fight?
  8. R.Picard
    8. Posted by R.Picard Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:12 pm EDT

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    I think if Anderson Silva moved up to light heavy he would still be great but, I can't see him beating everyone that he faces.I mean can you see him beating Rashad Evans,Quinton Jackson,Forrest Griffin? I really can't. I am pretty confident that he could maybe beat one out of the three. I can't see him being as superior if he went up a weight class. If he is going to waste peoples money like that and it isn't a challenge for him, then why not move up to 205 for good?
  9. Staios
    9. Posted by Staios Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:26 pm EDT

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    What a terrible column.. I don't think Silva was disrespectful at all.. Cote's constant movement threw him off of his game and he couldn't land many strikes. Cote ate two big ones, but his chin is one of the best around. This fight was a good cat and mouse game.. wish it could have gone 3 more rounds!
  10. Jason
    10. Posted by Jason Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:30 pm EDT

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    none of his actions struck me as him being a jerk. i do not think his bow to his opponent was disrespectful and doubt that his offering a hand to cote was either a trick or disrespectful. however, he did not impress me with his fight game through the first two rounds. would be pretty sad if the reason for that approach was that he did not take cote seriously. he should have had that little bubble burst when the few hard shots he landed did not buckle cote like they did franklin and leben. i think it was just one of those things where he is waiting for a particular look or opening and when it is not appearing he got overly cautious. had he knocked the guy out no one would be talking about the fact that he was bobbing and weaving (which he did against franklin) or waiving his hands around.
    joe did really stretch the realm of belief by calling it an entertaining fight. it was not.
    what was up with that referee in the clemente fight. he kept calling repeatedly for them to do something. they were. if he wants to ref boxing then have at it... otherwise learn the ground game.
  11. koni
    11. Posted by koni Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:16 pm EDT

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    Huh... "The Jerk"? You sportswriters will come up with any type of "sensationalism" to get people reading your material. Did Silva play around too much? Yeah. Did he score the only significant hits before the match was stopped? Yeah. Silva understands the nature of the sporting business. Give the fans their money's worth. People said the same thing about Ali and Mayweather Jr. to mention a few. It's not unlike people getting tired of paying so much money to watch Tyson (when he was in his prime) KO his opponent in 1 round. C'mon guys...leave the hype trash up to TMZ.
  12. Jason
    12. Posted by Jason Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:30 pm EDT

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    I do expect to see Silva take a small fall in the rankings due to this. Deserved or not the fight came across ugly and unsatisfying. Given the fact that GSP, BJ Penn and Fedor all delivered more complete and dominant victories I expect one of them to move up.
  13. xmptd
    13. Posted by xmptd Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:56 pm EDT

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    Cofield STFU please. Dancing around has always been apart of Silva's game. Please stop writing garbage
  14. steve a
    14. Posted by steve a Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:32 pm EDT

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    to the above comment^^^^^
    i truly think that silva can take out both forrest griffin, and rampage. for one, based on the fight between rampage an dan henderson. jackson barely scrapped that one out by decision, i really like rampage but he really had to fight hard to get that win and then he lost to forrest griffin who's OK in my book but their are more impressive fighters. ive seen some griffin fights and their are people i feel can beat him quite decisively. When dan henderson and silva fought he controlled the first round, by laying on top of silva btw as wrestlers tend to do, and it looked as if someone could stop silva but silva came back in that second round and completed dominated henderson. he got great hits and surgically took him down hit after hit, then submitted him. it was a decisive win.
    As for rashad evans i haven't seen him fight enough to make a decision there. but i do think silva should move up to light heavyweight if he wants a challenge
  15. koni
    15. Posted by koni Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:16 pm EDT

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    To add on...Hey Cofield...where was he being disrespectful to Cote by bowing at the end of the first round? Do you have any foundation or background in martial arts yourself? I saw no disrespect but rather the opposite. Dude...change your occupation...you don't have it as a sportswriter/commentator.
  16. Farthammer
    16. Posted by Farthammer Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:07 pm EDT

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    No, Silva was being a jerk. Offering your hand is being as condescending as possible. And he usually dances before and after a fight; not during.
  17. Norman W
    17. Posted by Norman W Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:41 pm EDT

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    lol jerk? pretty harsh words. how about you go into the octagon and call him that and we'll see if that smile is still on the spider's face. it's a freak accident and silva would've been serious later in the rounds after the predator wore himself out.
  18. GT22
    18. Posted by GT22 Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:05 pm EDT

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    It wasn't that bad of a fight, I definately wanted to see more I can empithize with Cote. When I was in the Military I was in Korea fighting in a torniment and my ACL blew out and there was no way I could continue either. And I totally agree with Rogan it was entertaining up until that point but I guess you have tohave an eye for the little things in the fight like the fact that it was the first time it seemed Silva was a little shy of just exchanging with some one the whole time. Any way the card was much more entertaining than the drivel last Saturday.
  19. cc
    19. Posted by cc Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:20 pm EDT

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    hello i'm not sure why you'r tring to combine playboy and ufc ppv together. i don't appreicate it , it's like one or the other is struggling or doesn't make enough money and you have to through in trash. it's bad enough that you have slutty ring girls, just like the slutty cheerleaders on football. they really degrade themselfs and the sport. i really hate subcribing to get ppv because everyone who subscribes to it is paying for them to be there. please dress them better and put some christian clothes on them. yes god is watching. am i the only one who feels like this. come on america start standing up for the right thing
  20. Nick M
    20. Posted by Nick M Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:52 pm EDT

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    OFFERING YOUR HAND?! What fighter hasn't done that? Get off your high horse you idiot farthammer. Theres nothing condescending about that I've seen guys get injuried while another fighter danced around and still come to give him a hand. More people who know nothing about MMA.
  21. heckaguy
    21. Posted by heckaguy Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:17 pm EDT

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    I disagree that Silva put on an 'insulting' performance. He did seem to take a conservative approach, however. They both did -- lots of body movement and footwork. If fans are dissatisfied with Silva's performance, it's because he is a victim of his past success in the sense that he now is expected to run through everybody in devastating fashion, usually in the first round.
    I also disagree with your general tone on MMA fighters, and Anderson Silva in particular, for not being more marketable. This isn't WWE. The fighting itself is the entertainment. Having a bunch of fighters assuming the heel role or engage in brash talk is not what makes this sport interesting. For that, stick to WWE and Jerry Springer.
  22. rocco
    22. Posted by rocco Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:05 pm EDT

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    back to back snooz fests for the ufc.
    a complete yawner.
    ufc should buy out silva & pay him off to retire.
    silva is 10 levels above any contender at 185 or 205.
    as far as mma goes, he is the best
    as far as fans & future $$$ goes for the ufc, he is the worst
  23. Betty
    23. Posted by Betty Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:29 pm EDT

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    so what if he was goofing off, maybe that was his way of fighting, this just seems to be another race story, where you want the one race to win.
    so get real a fight is a fight and the winner is the winner,
    so get over it and call it what it is your boy lose and thats it
  24. dcraigr2003
    24. Posted by dcraigr2003 Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:39 pm EDT

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    I wasn't impressed at all with Silva.If he's the best he didn't show it tonight.My son and his friends went.He said the under cards were worth him going but the main event was a big let down.Silva seemed to be playing instead of fighting.Move over Elete X.C. you folded and if UFC doesn't get it's act together you will be in the same vote.Not worth watching!!!!
  25. Chris R
    25. Posted by Chris R Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:40 pm EDT

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    To the idiot who wrote this column.You must not know much about mma.Cote wasnt trying to kick,he was just jumping around trying to throw Anderson off. Before you write about something learn more about it and maybe actually watch the fight. Its a misfortune for Cote but he never had a chance anyway. Also if your going to write about fighters do some research ok.

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