Silva looked pissed when Cote hurt his knee, like he was thinking "Fuck, I didnt get to knock this motherfucker out"
Another thing about this event was that Thiago Alves looked really really good. This guy could probably give GSP a bit of a challenge, if GSP decided to stand with him.
I didn't really pay attention, but I thought Silva was really respectful. A lot of fighters would've pounced on Cote when he first fell and would've had to be pulled off by the ref. Silva realized he was hurt and let the ref stop it. I think Silva had a plan to fuck around for 2 of 3 rounds and then just finish the fight with his pin point striking. A win is a win, either way. I don't think anybody expected Cote to upset Silva.
I was watching that wondering if GSP would be able to take him down.. then I remembered GSP takes EVERYONE down at will and Alves will be no different. GSP's striking is better than almost everyone in the division too due to his explosiveness and speed. Should be a great matchup.
I was able to watch the event tonight and here are a few (belated) thoughts... Anderson Silva looked like he wasn't interested in fighting Cote at all. Not a typical fight for the Brazilian. Cote was completely ineffective in the bout but showed his trademark granite chin. He probably lined himself up for fights with other top contenders at 185 but I doubt he'll be given a rematch. His knee injury looked dubious but you have to assume he's honest. He wasn't getting beat up so he didn't have a reason to want out. Thiago Alves looked great against Josh Koscheck. I wonder if Koscheck is thinking like Matt Hughes and wants to be a knockout artist. His bouts against Sanchez and Alves were both mediocre kickboxing displays. He needs to stick to his strengths. His teammate, Jon Fitch, rolled through Alves with wrestling and ground and pound. I don't know where Koscheck's head was--maybe he didn't have enough time to come up with a good game plan. Sean Sherk looked good fighting another short-armed small lightweight. A fight for him against Stevenson is interesting but there isn't much else in the UFC for him. I have no interest in seeing him fight Florian, Franca, Huerta, Maynard, etc.. Maynard is a good lightweight but he isn't an exciting fighter. He probably won't fight his close friend BJ Penn so I don't know where he is heading at the moment. He needs a step up in competition badly. Junior Dos Santos took advantage of a disinterested and fat Fabricio Werdum. Rogan kept talking about how Werdum had put on weight--he was fat. His stomach and love handles were floppy. Maybe he got discouraged after being left out of the UFC's heavyweight tournament. Did he deserve Frank Mir's title shot?
You don't think the injury was legit? You could see his knee buckle. He had surgery and is out 6-8 months.
It was something like when Din Thomas fought Kenny Florian. Thomas' knee went out on him for no reason. Thankfully Silva didn't jump on Cote when it happened, unlike Mr. "I finish fights".
I didn't for a second think the injury was not legit. Cote is a tough guy and he wasn't being whooped or anything.. I just don't see any quit in him. It must have hurt like hell for him to drop like that. As for Alves.. Sure Fitch outwreslted him..almost 2 and a half years ago.. Thiago is young and has improved his take down defence immensely, thus the difference with taking Alves down now and in 2006.
^ Matt Hughes got him down not too long ago. Unlikely Hughes could get Koscheck/GSP/Fitch down, which to me indicates Alves' take down defense is not as good as Kos made it look. Koscheck just didn't have a good game plan.
