(Image:UFC.com)

Following the main event showdown between Patrick “The Predator” Cote and Anderson Silva at UFC 90, Silva left with his big shiny belt buckle while Cote got to take a busted up knee home with him.  Apparently this was an aggravation of an old injury for Cote and it had flared up just weeks before the event.  Stephane Patry, Cote’s manager advised that the injury first occurred prior to Cote’s January bout against Drew McFedries but Cote has been dealing with the occasional blow outs while attempting to stay active and maximize what was his 4 fight win streak . 

It is likely the same injury that forced Cote out of UFC 83 fight card in Montreal where he was originally scheduled to meet Alan Belcher.  That bout turned into a stellar debut for fellow Canadian MMA fighter Jason Day.  regardless of the source of the injury, Cote will reportedly be out of action for 6-8 months as he undergoes medical treatment.

“For him to be six to eight months off with that kind of surgery means that there’s a lot of work to do in his knee,” Stephane Patry, Cote’s manager, told The Canadian Press on Monday from Montreal.

 Cote mentioned that he had triggered the injury again while delivering a body kick to Silva in the second round.  I’m not sure if the picture for this post is that kick, but I can’t recall seeing many knees look like that!  Bad luck for Cote, but that’s what happens when you roll the dice with an injury.  As for the champ,  Anderson”The Spider” Silva, much has been made of his in fight antics against Cote that still have not been fully explained, but looked like a mix of stalling and elaborate showboating.

It’s unknown if Cote will get another shot at Silva when he is healthy again.  Cote may not even be a Middleweight by that time as the UFC struggles to find competitive matches at 185lbs for the fighter who has become known as the most lethal striker in all of MMA.