Patrick “The Predator” Cote (13-4) has said it for months: he and his camp have the perfect game plan to do what no other fighter has managed to do in eight fights — beat Anderson Silva (22-4).
Hell, if you don’t count the disqualification when Silva illegally up-kicked Yushin Okami’s head into the rafters, it’s even more than eight fights — the guy hasn’t truly lost since December 2004.
But Cote is nothing but confident that Silva’s reign is about to come to an abrupt end.
He’s not worried about the crazy odds. In fact, that takes away the pressure. And he’s inviting Silva to stand and trade, something a host of UFC fighters like former middleweight champion Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, Nate Marquardt, Chris Leben, James Irvin and more have all had significant trouble with.
All the talk … and the wait is almost over.
Cote will face “The Spider” for the middleweight strap this Saturday, October 25 at UFC 90. It airs on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., starting at 10 p.m. ET.
When we recently caught up with “The Predator,” he shared his thoughts on how his training camp has gone, these crazy Vegas odds and just how strong his chin really is.
Here we go:
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I last talked to you before your Ricardo Almeida fight at UFC 86. That fight ended in a split decision. How did you feel about your performance in that fight?
Patrick Cote: I think that I did what I had to do. I was sticking to the game plan. For sure when you put two guys together like that who have completely different styles, you can’t expect for a crazy standup war or a crazy jiu-jitsu fight. My style is to stay on my feet and avoid the takedowns, and that’s exactly what I did. I’m not going to play jiu-jitsu with a six-time world champion of jiu-jitsu.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Absolutely. I thought that it was a great performance, and it was clearly enough to earn you the title shot. You face Anderson Silva this Saturday. You’ve talked about fighting Silva for a while now, saying that you feel that you and your camp have the perfect game plan for him. How amped up are you for this fight?
Patrick Cote: I’m in really, really good shape right now — the best shape of my life. I can’t wait to fight him. If they asked me to fight him today, I would do it.
I can’t wait to fight Anderson. I think I’m going to shock a lot of people. A lot of people have a lack of respect toward me, because they have already looked over me. I just want to prove to everybody that I will give him a war, and I will win the belt, and after that everybody will know that they made a mistake (looking past me).
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Speaking of that, I think you can’t talk about this fight without talking about the fact that Vegas has you as a huge underdog.* Do you find that insulting that the oddsmakers don’t seem to have confidence in you, or do you attribute it to simply that Silva has been such a devastating fighter for so many people.
(Note: Betus.com currently has the split at Silva -700, Cote +500.)
Patrick Cote: No, it’s perfect. I don’t care. It’s easier for me to fight — I don’t have any pressure on me.
The biggest difference between me and the opponents who have already fought Silva is that I don’t care if I’m fighting Anderson Silva. I know that this guy is one of the best in the world, but I’m not scared of him. I’m not nervous to fight him.
A lot of fighters who fought him before had already lost before the fight because they were too afraid of him. Me? I don’t care. I’m not going to be nervous or scared to face Anderson. That’s exactly what I’m going to do — I’m going to prepare myself very well.
A lot of people, a lot of my friends, are going to put money on me, and they will be rich after the fight.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): (Laughs) Right on, man. Well let’s talk about Silva. He’s a dangerous striker. If he keeps you at a distance, his kicks can be deadly; however, if you close the distance, his clinch is also so extremely dangerous, as Rich Franklin found out the hard way on two separate occasions.
What do you think about Silva’s standup, and what strategies do you feel will be most successful against thechamp?
Patrick Cote: I feel great. Everybody knows me and everybody knows my style. I’m a striker. I like to stay on my feet and exchange with people who will stand with me. (Silva) said that he’s happy to fight me because I will stay on my feet and exchange with him, so hopefully he’s gonna do it too.
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.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Have you been preparing for this fight differently than you have in previous fights?
Patrick Cote: Oh, for sure. I took 10 weeks for my training camp — two and a half months — I’m in great shape. I have a new conditioning and strength training coach too. I’ve spent a lot of time here at Sityodtong in Boston with Mark DellaGrotte, a good Muay Thai guy here. I’ve been sparring with a couple of guys from Thailand too. My training camp is perfect for this fight. I can’t wait to fight, like I told you. I’m ready to fight tomorrow.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Did the UFC have you sign a contract extension before this fight, and if so, how many fights do you have on the contract?
Patrick Cote: For this fight or before?
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I was under the impression that you only had one or two fights on your contract remaining.
Patrick Cote: I didn’t sign any contract, but this fight is very important for me to have a good contract after that, and to be the champion and it is going to be easier to negotiate after that. So I’m still on the same contract.
But sure, I fight for the money, I fight because this is my job; but first I want to be #1. I fight to be the best in the world, and to be the best in the world you have to have the belt around your waist, so that’s the most important thing for me right now.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): The last time I talked to you was on The Ultimate Fight Train before UFC 83. You provided the ringside commentary at that event for the French pay-per-view. You had told me before that you were interested in continuing this gig for future UFCs in Canada. Have you discussed with the UFC when they plan to return north of the border, and if you will continue to provide commentary for the next UFC event in Canada?
Patrick Cote: They told me that I did a good job, but no, we haven’t talked about that. If they offered me to do it again, for sure I would do that. I enjoyed it a lot. But I prefer to be in the Octagon than outside it.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well Patrick, as always it’s a pleasure to talk with you, and I wish you luck against Anderson Silva. I want to give you a chance to thank any sponsors or if you have any parting words for your fans?
Patrick Cote: I just want to thank my sponsors. I have a lot of good sponsors that help me train full time — Warrior Wear, One More Round — they help me out a lot.
For my fans, I will give a good show. For everybody who believes in me, I’m not going to disappoint you. I will be there 100 percent and the UFC will have a new middleweight champion for sure.
76 Comments »
I can’t wait for this fight…
hey guys, I just saw Max Payne…pretty solid movie. no oscars will be won, but it was entertaining to say the least.
I didn’t read the interview because the fight won’t last a round, and I think GSP and cote date!
yeah im not bothering to read this either… weve been absoultely bombarded with interviews from this guy, can we get a sean sherk interview? thales leites? mcfedries? werdum? please?
I wasnt going to read this idiots nonsense interview, but then I saw that the interview was being conducted by Adam Wagner. Adam conducts really good interviews and we all need to show him our support, so read the interview guys….adam does great work on this site!
WAR WAGZ!!!!!!!
Hahaha- His secret strategy is to not be scared. This is gonna be a funny live execution.
Execution double 9 style…Steadily sending that body underground.
1 thing I agree with is that Cote and GSP date
I think you and Kevin have a man crush on GSP, just think GSP and Cote eating poutine wearing only their champion belts.
******
ANYONE picking cote please say so now, I don’t wanna come on sat or sun hearing all these guys picked cote after the fact!!!!!
im picking cote wooooo i just smoked a bunch of PCP!!!
i got sherk, clementi, leites…
Kevin, I pick Cote to win by decision. Most likely it will be by split decision, but please mark my words. I love Silva but some weird things have been going on lately. Silva is talking about retirement and the UFC won’t let him retire with the belt most likely. I’m actually terrified that Silva will throw this one away on purpose so he won’t have as much trouble retiring as he would undefeated in the UFC. I know that Silva should win this fight but I have a scary feeling that Silva will take a dive. I’m not saying the fight is fixed, I’m just saying that Silva might do it for himself and his own reasons. I want Silva to win but my prediction is a loss via decision.
I have another question that I want anyone’s thoughts on: If Silva were to lose this fight would he get an instant rematch like Arlovski did against Sylvia a couple years back? I feel like if Silva did lose, Dana would set up the rematch immediately just to make sure it wasn’t cuz Silva was sick that night or something. Your thoughts?
Why would he throw this fight away to retire not a champ but still have 6 fights left on his contract?
Silva would still win even if he were on his death bed. This guy is Incredible. The Incredible Spider!!!
Yeah I got Cote to win, Ive always been a big fan of his since the Tito fight. I really do believe he will be the new champion.
i really do believe c-war has some good drugs in his drawer
No one loves a conspiracy like me but even this one is reaching in my books. There is no better bargaining tool than to have the belt.
Patrik Cote isnt a very good friend. He has coaxed his friends/followers into wagering money on Cote….promising them that they will be rich when he shocks the world. NOt a very good friend if you ask me!
Im going with Cote
Sdow: Where do you come up with this stuff?
Brendan: ALL-Out WAR Clementi!!
lol, I was thinking the same thing. at least say by ko, how many decisions have you seen silva go to? or even cote for that matter!
I dont know, say what you guys want but he is not scared. I can tell. He is def going to take a wooping because anderson silva will pick him apart. If cote can avoid being picked apart, then i bet you he takes this fight. His gameplan has to be one of the defensive…he will be a counter puncher. If he thinks he will preasure silva, he will loose and i bet any money on that. If he doesnt engage and makes silva be the one to drive in then he may have a punchers chance to take him out.
I’m going to have to say that I agree he isn’t scared but why does that matter? Do you think Leben, Hendo, or Franklin were afraid of him? I highly doubt it maybe Franklin was for his second fight but he was easily putting people away before their first fight. The second thing is why do you think he will be able to win this being a counter puncher? Sure thats the best chance you have to get a one hit KO but Silva doesn’t come at you like a normal person, he doesn’t step into your punch. He has amazing head movement and hand speed. I like Cote don’t get me wrong but he doesn’t even really have a punchers chance here. He’s going to fall right into Silva’s game plan by standing with him, making Silva more confident about his stand up and not fearing using his kicks. Nobody is disrespecting Cote at all here but when it comes to Silva he’s not on the same level, I don’t think Cote would be able to beat Franklin, Hendo, or Okami either but he could put up a better fight against these guys than he could against Silva.
The only way he can avoid “being picked apart” is if he stays home. And I don’t believe Cote when he says that he isn’t scared. Maybe not right now (even then I don’t believe him) but definitely come fight time. When him and Silva come together in the middle of the ring just before the bell he will be crapping his pants. He’ll have a couple of minutes with the baddest mofo on the planet.
shogun is going to be the first man to beat silva in the octagon!!!
Umm.. the reason Cote keeps telling everybody that he ISN’T scared is because he IS scared and he’s trying to convince himself that he’s not. LOL
Like I said before, if I was anderson silva, I would shoot and take him down because 1. he is a black belt in bjj 2. Cote will never expect that as he thinks its a standup war 3. i bet he didnt train his ground game as much as his standup. Silva can end it in the first round and shock everyone because thats would be a smart gameplan for him. Its pretty much 100% full proof and he wont have to risk being knocked out ( can happen to anyone)
did you mean fool proof?
What??
More like, what the fu*k are you talking about What??.
“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.”
3 attempts and 3 failures. maybe he should have tried a different stand up coach.
True that!
Lol Adam should’ve replied this.
He should take him down just to show that he can, and then mess him up standing. That would be a game plan for him if he needed to get in someones head, but he doesn’t. He will just go in there and dominate him.
Option A) Cote is aggresive. Silva will get his timing down, wait and (T)KO Cote.
Option B) Cote is not aggresive. Silva will get his timing down, be aggresive and (T)KO Cote.
Option C) Cote lands a miracle punch and Silve gets KO’d.
95% chance one of the first two happen.
.000001% chance that option C will happen…
I am also very excited for this fight….The way everyone is writing off Cote (analysyts, mma insiders, friends etc.) it is making me get more and more excited for Cote. Obviously I consider Anderson the heavy favourite, but anything can happen.
This is one thing we have come to love about MMA, anything can happen.
Anderson Silva said that his time is over. We might not see the same Anderson…who knows? Cote seems pretty set on sticking to game plans. That boring fight with Ricardo would be indicitave of that. I hope that he gives Anderson a run for his money but I also hope that Silva comes out victorious so that I can see him fight some super fights.
That is just Anderson being extraordinarily humble as usual. Just like when he said Paul Filho (his buddy) was the number one middleweight in the world or when he said Lyoto was the real LHW champ. If it wasn’t for Lyoto he would go after and IMO hold both titles at the same time until he retired in late 2009 or 2010.
Silva will dominate Cote, just like he has done since entering the UFC. This fight will be over in round one.
Lets Go Cote
yeah.. go to the hospital.. and get some stitches.. and Mri’s done.
Haha Not Saying He Wont Win Without Injuries
LMAO Phil!
Cote is riding on a high confidence wave! No doubt he has the ability to rock Silva and put him away! But, Silva is crazy dangerous on the ground or standing! With unmatched accuracy! And he’s got a good chin! One thing Cote’s right about though, is most of Silva’s opponents lost mentally before the fight after seeing him destroy Franklin. MMA is a pain game! You are gonna get hurt! Eventually, you’re gonna lose! But, if you worry about it during the fight, you’ll just welcome both to take place. So, if Cote maintains his composure and controls these fears, he could very well win!
I doubt Hendo lost before the fight started, I doubt Franklin was scared either
Cote will win the fight in the 3rd round (TKO / Ref stoppage) You heard it here first.
It’s not like it’s complicated for Cote. Im probably sure he will counter attack and try to finish off with the first punch. He can knock people out. Everyone that try to go get the KO vs Silva usually don’t get it BUT if he wait for the right time and be able to eat some punchs that can kill normal people, he has a chance. Im with Cote for this one aniway if he lose we can say that everyone lose against Silva.
Anderson is going to tear through him like a fresh piece of Canadian bacon.
Cote should get some help from GSP and David Losiou. Maybe they can fight Anderson one round each
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Nah, one round each the first guy would lose right away. Maybe at the same time they would stand a chance.
I really hope Cote wins but the chances of that are slim at best.
cote via 5th round tko…not silva will pick him apart, when will it end im not sure.
If he says “for sure” one more time…
I’m rooting for Anderson only because Cote is being so obnoxious in his interviews
It’s funny, ever since Rashad ktfo’d Chuck everyone’s looking for the upset just so they could say “I told ya so”. haha
I don’t believe Cote for one minute that he isn’t afraid of Silva. I like Cote but I just think Silva can beat him any way he wants to. One thing that has never been mentioned about Anderson is his chin. This could be because he hasn’t been connected on with a clean shot. However, I think Cote will be surprised when he hits Anderson with a good shot and he doesn’t even flinch. That is IF he puts a glove on him.
I just want Spider to be done with this division and move up already.
Although first I want to see a rematch with Hendo/
from what I have seen, Anderson Silva can take a mean punch, its almost like he is inviting someone to hit him so he can actually feel it. He put his hands down against Franklin and let him swing and he dodged them all lol. Silva is a badass and I do not think Cote can take him out, but I would say Anderson SIlva is at a good point to be taken out if someone were to try…..Cote will get rocked and possibly KO’d one Anderson connects with hands, knees, kicks, whatever he wants to throw.
Agreed. I watched the Hendo Fight again last night. Hendo has a shot. I’d like to see Hendo have a more dominating attitude going in next time. I don’t mean over-aggressive swinging wildly. I’d like to see him press him against the fence, take him down (even if he doesn’t intend to finish from there), and try to push him around a little more. Hell..maybe even throw in an accidentally on purpose nut shot. If only one could borrow Diego’s “ordained by God” psychosis, I think it would help.
hmm.. when chris leben fought anderson silva he wasnt afraid at all, i also dont think cotes chin is any better than lebens’ and what happened to leben again? I just cant see cote taking this one, it seems like his style is made for anderson.
no but cote is a smarter figher than leben was- second everyone thinks that they can rock silva.. but watch the Henderson fight he takes like 5 6 CLEAR SHOTS ( i actually watched it in slow motion those parts) and just before henderson went for that take down attempt he through a over looping right and connected and silva took it… and everyone says thats hendo’s bread and butter- and silva ate it … so i dunno what other tools cote has than a heavy hand
Would Cote be so foolish as to be doing the EXACT opposite of what he’s really telling us???
A) He’s saying he’s confident but he’s really scared *hitless.
B) He’s saying he’s going to keep it standing but is actually going to take it to the ground.
C) He’s saying he has the perfect game plan but really has absolutely no idea what to do….Points to point A
Adam Wagner….Start hooking these guys up to the polygraph!
GSP can beat Silva and I pray we get to see that before he retires
wake up people anderson will win first round ko anderson has beat tougher competitor than him
im picking cote!
Wrong pick dude…
Anderson is awesome! There’s no doubt about that. The man is a warrior! I don’t think GSP would beat him! Can he? Well, of course! Anyone can be knocked out! Cote cannot fight at Silva’s level! Period! But, he can KO him! I think the question is: Will Silva come into the match over-confident from his previous superiority and believe that Cote can’t touch him? If so, he might not respect Cote’s power! That could hurt! I don’t believe for a second that Silva wants to lose! But, it does seem that he may be focused far into the future, past this fight. A man will always fight his hardest for what he wants! What, at this point in his life, does Silva want most???
IMO Silva enjoys giving a good performance. With Cote fight, you will see the spider with fight moves in the air. This guy WANTS someone like Cote to be his bitch like all or most of his fighters. DO NOT UNDER ESTIMATE THE SPIDER. The only way he would lose is via submission again IMO.
IMO Silva enjoys giving a good performance. With Cote fight, you will see the spider with fight moves in the air. This guy WANTS someone like Cote to be his b**** like all or most of his fighters. DO NOT UNDER ESTIMATE THE SPIDER. The only way he would lose is via submission again IMO.
I remember looking for forward to the Irvin fight.
This man will also be crushed in rd 1.
hey Adam great interview, too bad our ‘prank’ didn’t come to fruition!!! Cote sounds ready…good job bro, keep well – we’ll chat soon.
For everyone that said Franklin wasnt scared, he was. He was scared both fights and was scared during the first fight once he felt the power within the clinch. Henderson got hit and therfor lost. I think Hendo, given another chance would win the fight. He controlled the first round. Travis Luter ( if his cardio) was better can also take silva on once on the ground. He is not unbeatable. Leben was the best fight for silva because that tard throws haymakers and silva rocked his jaw. I say Cote has a chance, but will loose.
this guy is a clown i hope he goes out like sandman Irvin. Im tired of hearing about him and his game plan. If he thinks he has a chance his on crack….maybe after training with Freddie Roach for a year straight will he have a chance at the stand up game….his strikes are not very calculated and dont land most of the time on the other had Silva has the best head movement and footwork in the UFC.
Cote is going to dive in for takedowns and try to GNP Anderson on the ground like everyone else. I don’t care what he says…..he’s not going to try to stand with Silva. Silva is taller, longer, faster, with better footwork. Silva has better boxing, better Muay Thai, and better kicks. Cote couldn’t even beat Leben, and he’s going to outstrike Silva? LOL.
Cote is looking to fight like Lutter did. Does Cote have a chance? Yeah. Will he stand toe-to-toe with Silva? Not unless he’s become certifiable.
I say Cote tko 2nd round make fun of me all you want but anything can happen!!!