Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote

Some fans night go as far as to say that an analysis of the upcoming Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote fight is completely unnecessary as Anderson Silva has been flawless so far in his UFC career. Anderson Silva is atop the pound for pound rankings on the lists of several MMA analysts while Patrick Cote doesn’t even crack the top 10 on the pound for pound rankings – perhaps not even the top 20.

So why even bother with an analysis then?

Well, for starters ..because pound for pound rankings (and rankings in general) are irrelevant come fight time. On October 25th at UFC 90, it comes down to two trained professionals locked in a cage for 5 rounds. Their rankings based on their past accomplishments won’t help them because as we’ve seen over and over with this sport – it’s not who’s the better man/fighter, but rather, it’s who’s the better man/fighter on that given night.

On paper, Anderson Silva has a clear-cut advantage both on his feet with his Muay Thai or on the ground as he’s a seasoned black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under the Nogeuira brothers. Add to that his soaring confidence since with the exception of a single round in his fight against Dan Henderson, Anderson Silva has yet to be threatened by defeat so far in the UFC. A fighters mental state coming into a fight is equally important as his physical state and you can bet that Anderson Silva has all the confidence in the world right now.

Patrick Cote on the other hand has been flying under the radar up until this point which is surprising as he’s shown a dramatic improvement with big wins over Kendall Grove, Drew McFedries and most recently, Ricardo Almeida. Like Anderson Silva, Patrick Cote is a “complete” mixed martial artist. As a soon-to-be brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Fabio Holanda of Brazilian Top Team (BTT Canada), Patrick Cote is certainly well versed on the ground. While Anderson Silva has the higher belt ranking, Patrick Cote’s brown belt level BJJ should be enough to prevent being easily submitted. Patrick Cote was also able to handle Ricardo Almeida – who is thought to be one of the best BJJ practitioners in all of mixed martial arts – in his last fight at UFC 86. Since both fighters are at such a high level in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it should be interesting to see if their skills neutralize each other.

As mentioned above, it’s no secret that Anderson Silva is the better striker. Of course, Georges St. Pierre is a better striker than Matt Serra and we all saw what happened in their first fight. Everyone has a punches chance but in Patrick Cote’s case – he has a lot more than that. In his last fight, Patrick Cote almost knocked Drew McFedries’ head through the Octagon fence with a series of powerful rights. Patrick Cote is more confident than ever with his standup skills as he’s been training with Mark Delagratte at his Sityodtong training camp in Boston.

With regards to a standup war with Anderson Silva, Patrick Cote recently made the following statements to MMAMania.com..

As for striking, I’ve never been rocked in my life, and I’ve never been knocked out in my life. So I go in there very confident.

We know exactly what to do, we have a good game plan. Now I just have to do it. Mark DellaGrotte will be in my corner. As a corner man, he’s already gone three times against Anderson Silva, so he knows him very well.

We know exactly what to do to beat him. Right now, it’s the time for Anderson Silva to lose and I’m the perfect opponent to do it. I ain’t scared of him. I don’t care. I just need one punch to put him away, so we’ll see what happens.

As the betting odds for this fight are reflecting, it’s no secret that Anderson Silva is a heavy favourite. However, with the odds as crazy as they are, it doesn’t make sense to bet on Anderson Silva as you would have to risk 700 to win 100. Yes, he’s the better fighter but will he be the better figher on October 25th? He may very well be but in this sport, as we’ve seen time and time again, nothing is a sure thing..

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) in MMA

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) techniques are utilized in the majority of modern MMA fights. This is because the majority of MMA fights hit the ground and some point or another. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is without a doubt, the ground-fighting system of choice amongst MMA fighters. That’s basically what it is – a complete ground-fighting system. It doesn’t teach striking and the takedowns are fairly weak compared to those of wrestlers and judo players but once an accomplished Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) fighter gets you down, you’re in a whole lot of trouble.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is highly effective at neutralizing size advantages. Royce Gracie best proved this during the early UFC competitions. There he was; this tiny little Brazilian guy, having to fight guys who were much bigger and much stronger than he was. As you may recall, the early UFC competitions weren’t what they are today. There was no weight classes, no gloves and basically no rules.

Even as the fights transpired and the larger opponents were being choked out, most people (myself included), didn’t really understand how it was happening. It took a few UFC tournaments before people started catching on and ever since then, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) has become one of the most respected martial arts. Mission accomplished for the Gracie family!

The Orgin of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) was originally developed from Judo. A man by the name of Mitsuyo Maeda (a judoka) was sent from Japan to countries around the world to popularize the art by giving demonstrations and accepting challenges from masters of other fighting arts. He eventually made his way to Brazil in 1914 and since then, judo was separated from Jiu-Jitsu in it’s training regime and goals.

Ranking System

The adult ranking system in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) goes from ..

1) white belt
2) blue belt
3) purple belt
4) brown belt
5) black belt
6) black & red belt
7) red belt

It usually takes between 8-10 years for someone to obtain a black belt ranking. Belt promotion is primarily based on ability to perform in competition and against other students of the same ranking.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) in modern MMA

MMA has come a long way since those early UFC’s where it was primarily style vs. style and Brazilian Jiu- Jitsu (BJJ) reigned supreme. Nowadays, the MMA fighters are extremely well rounded. If any facet of your game is weak, your opponent will likely try to exploit it. If you’re a good striker but you’re ground game is questionable, your opponent will likely look for the takedown. If you’re not prepared to fight on the ground, you’ll be a “fish out of water” so to speak and will likely get either submitted or pounded on until the fight is stopped.

Chuck Liddell, who is easily the most popular North American MMA fighter and known for his striking ability, has a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). MMA fighters have gone from being one-dimensional brawlers to complete, well rounded gladiators and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) has played a major role in the transition.