| MMA: Can Canada’s ‘Predator’ shock the world at UFC 90? |
When James "Buster" Douglas rattled the gap-toothed chops of Mike Tyson back in early 1990 and became a shock undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world, fight fans generally expected Armageddon to follow. After all, nobody gave Douglas a hope in hell of hurting Iron Mike, let alone knocking him out. Only one Las Vegas sportsbook would even take bets on the fight. The general consensus was that Douglas was a ‘tomato can’ - a stiff of the worst kind.
The magnitude of cynicism surrounding that fight became apparent when Tyson’s corner didn’t even bring an endswell (the cold metal tool used to bring down swelling around the eye between rounds) to the event. As a result, when the challenger jabbed Tyson’s eye shut, his corner had to fill a rubber glove with ice and hold it to the side of his head.
Montreal-based UFC title contender Patrick (The Predator) Côté has likely been watching the Tyson-Douglas fight on a loop since it was announced he would battle middleweight champion Anderson (The Spider) Silva in tonight’s UFC 90 pay-per-view main event. After all, nobody in the world seriously thinks Côté has a chance against a 7-1 favourite generally considered to be the world’s best pound-for-pound mixed martial artist.
Nobody, except Patrick Côté.
"I don’t care about the odds," says the former five-year Canadian Army veteran. "It’s just more interesting for my friends and everybody who puts money on me, they will be a lot richer after this fight."
"I ain’t scared of him and I like my chances against him…. We’re going to push the pace and we’re going to give him a real war."
Côté’s fellow middleweights aren’t necessarily so enthused about his chances.
"He’s got a tough night on his hands," says fellow UFC middleweight Michael (The Count) Bisping of the Canadian. "Certainly if I was a gambling man, I’d be putting my money on Anderson Silva to take him out. I wish all the best to Patrick Côté but I think Anderson’s definitely going to take it - without too much difficulty to be honest."
Says Chris (The Crippler) Leben, "In order to beat Anderson, [Côté]’s going to have to fight perfect, a lot more perfect than we’ve seen him fight in the past…. And the odds of that happening are fairly slim."
Patrick Côté has beaten slim odds before. In fact, it’s kind of an artform for the 5′11" 185lb one-punch knockout specialist.
His UFC debut was a match against heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz as a last minute substitute for an injured contender. Côté was fighting out of his depth, in the wrong weight class, with next to no preparation, and against a personal hero. Yet he lasted the distance, shocking the MMA world and earning himself a contract.
His next two fights were both losses, leading to him being cut from the organization, but after a couple of submission wins against quality Canuck fighters Jason MacDonald and Bill Mahood, which earned him a pair of local title belts, Côté pulled another rabbit out of his hat by joining the cast of the Ultimate Fighter reality TV show. The winner would earn a six figure UFC contract. Côté lost in the final.
That turned out to be good enough for the UFC to keep him around as undercard filler - yet another lifeline in a career that just wouldn’t quit.
Even Côté would agree that, with such a collection of close scrapes in his CV, it’s no mystery why so many MMA fans think he has no chance against a monster like Silva.
"I never asked for the title fight," says Côté. "My plan was to win against [previous opponent Ricardo] Almeida and I won, and they told me I have a title fight."
The Spider has never lost a bout in the UFC. In fact, he beat former champion Rich Franklin so convincingly over a pair of fights recently that Franklin moved to another weight class to escape him.
Silva’s punches and kicks come with the smoothness of a ninja and the ferocity of a berzerker, while Côté relies on the big looping knockout punch, but those who write the Canadian off are forgetting one important point: Since the Ultimate Fighter finale, Patrick Côté has been unstoppable. He’s gone 5-0 since that night, and not one of his opponents in that time has been a gimme.
Silva’s manager, Ed Soras, says his fighter doesn’t see this bout as an easy victory, despite the press narrative that a title defense is a given: "You know, a lot of media and talking about what Anderson is going to do next, but I can tell you this much…. he’s not talking Patrick Côté lightly. He’s trained super, super hard for this fight…. He’s focused on Patrick Côté."
Bottom line: Canada’s knockout king will leave nothing in the gas tank.
"I do this sport to be world champ…. I can’t wait to unleash the fury and just be the next champion of the world."
He’s just one punch away. He’s always been one punch away. Sooner or later, that punch is going to land.
| " | Canadian Patrick Côté has no chance against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva Saturday. And that's how he likes it. |
