UFC 90: Spiders, Sharks, Predators, and Pitbulls

In what will be a very important fight card, many have overlooked it. People look at the main event (like always) and say, "I'm not buying that one, Cote is gonna get killed".

Ladies and gentleman, do you see the problem with that statement? For those that don't, let me explain. Silva and Cote aren't the only guys fighting at UFC 90.

In fact, this card has two top 10 welterweights in the world pitted head to head. The 10th best lightweight in the world fighting to keep his spot amongst the UFC elite. The sixth best heavyweight in the world trying to show that he has what it takes to be a championship contender.

Not to mention, two top 10 middleweights, one of which is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

We'll start off with the main event.

Anderson "The Spider" Silva vs. Patrick "The Predator" Cote

Pat Cote is 5-0 since losing to Travis Lutter in The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale. For those that may have forgotten, the winners of that season got a title shot against their weight-classes champion.

Had Pat won that fight against Travis, he would have fought Anderson Silva. How amazing is it that nobody thought anyone from that season could win a title, or even fight for one without the help of the show, yet Matt Serra beat GSP, and the LOSER of the other fight, winds up getting a shot two years later?

That season has produced three title contenders, instead of the two that were the prizes. But I digress.

Pat Cote has finished three fights in his five-fight win streak, although one was outside the UFC. Do not count this guy out. He may not have been the first choice to fight Silva, Cote was picked after Yushin Okami got hurt, but he did beat out Thales Leites, who is fighting on the same card, for the fight.

Why did he get picked? I personally don't know, but wouldn't it be something if he pulled off the upset. That would make TUF 4 the best most decorated season, title wise.

Now to talk about the only reason why somebody might watch this fight. Anderson Silva will be fighting for the third time this year, with room and want for one more. Anderson took out the one man that people thought would have what it took to beat him, Dan Henderson, and then proceed to gain 20 pounds and embarrass the hard hitting James Irvin by TKO.

He may be the most invincible fighter in the world, that's why I'm taking Anderson by first round stoppage. How will it be stopped? Any way Anderson feels like stopping it.

Thiago "The Pitbull" Alves vs. Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez

This fight means more than any fight on this card. Yes, even more than the already finished title fight between Anderson and Patrick. Why? Because this fight pits the fourth best welterweight in the world against the fifth best welterweight in the world.

Thiago "Overweight" Alves is coming off of a second round destruction of UFC legend Matt Hughes, albeit with four extra pounds behind those devastating knees. With a win over Sanchez, Thiago would have seven straight octagon wins with his last loss coming at the hands of Jon Fitch.

He would improve to 9-2 in the UFC, and be almost assured a title shot. That is, if he can prove that he can get down to 170 before weigh-ins.

Diego "I'm Back" Sanchez is looking to prove just that. Since losing two straight to Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch, Diego has stopped his last two opponents. With a win over Alves, Diego may be looking at a possible rematch with "Kos".

You may be thinking "Why would Thaigo get a title shot, but Diego have to fight again?". The reason is because Diego hasn't gotten that "name" yet. He beat Karo, but that was before his loss streak. Ask any MMA aficionado, and they'll tell you that in order to be considered a contender in a stacked weight class, you need to put a streak together.

Oh, and you need to put somebody with big name credibility. Thiago has done that, and by beating Hughes, Thiago earned that credibility. So if Diego wins, he'll have one piece of the two piece puzzle completed.

I'm sorry Diego, but I'm going to have to take Thaigo to win this fight. This guy is way to hot right now, and is not going to be willing to allow a fork to be put on his road to GSP. He has won 5 straight fights by TKO, oddly all in the second round.

So when you're watching this fight and rooting for Diego, don't get too excited when if he makes it out of the first round, just prey that the "Pitbull" doesn't catch Diego, because if he does, Diego isn't going to get away.

Fabricio "Vai Cavalo" Werdum vs. Junior "Cigano" dos Santos

Poor, poor Fabricio. "The Go Horse" just cannot get any repect in the heavyweight division. This fight doesn't even deserve analysis.

Fabricio is 11-3 and has TKO'd his last two opponents, anyone remember those names? Gabriel "Used To Be Important" Gonzaga and Brandon "Punished Into The Light-heavyweight Division" Vera. Those are two pretty big names, or at least they were when Werdum until beat them.

Yet Fabricio still isn't considered a contender in the division, except by every MMA fan in the world. Now Fabricio has to waste his time against UFC newcomer, Junior do Santos.

I first want to say, who the hell thought "Cigano" would be a good nickname for a fighter. For those that don't know, Cigano is a Portuguese word meaning gypsy.

Gypsy is perceived as an insult in alot of countries. Never mind that, why is this guy in the UFC. Oh, wait, it's because his record is 6-1 and has finished all of his fights, including his loss. He also made it in because the UFC doesn't look at the people you've defeated to achieve your record.

6-1 seems impressive right? Does your perception of the record change when the combined record of the people he's defeated is 9-23? Yeah, I thought so.

He has defeated a man with a record of 6-2, but I discounted this victory because he later lost to this guy by a first round armbar, and his victory over the other guy was due to exhaustion after fighting in a long fight earlier in the night.

For my pick in this fight, I'm taking Fabricio with an easy yet satisfying victory in the first round. If Fabricio wants to get the recognition he deserves, he can't lose to an unproven newcomer.

Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk vs. Tyson Griffin

This fight should be a good one. Both of these guys have great cardio, and usually let the judges decide the winner. I'll start with Sean Sherk.

Sean has not fought since losing to BJ in a devastating fashion. It was only his third loss, and just the second time he has been put away. This small version of Matt Hughes is one of the best the 155 pound division can offer.

With by far the best cardio in the game, and probably of all time, Sean can push the pace and dominate his opponents for an entire fight. He's gone 25 minutes twice in his career, with unanimous victories in each. He wants to go 25 again, but first he has to go 15 with Tyson Griffin.

Tyson Griffin is part of the Lightweight youth movement that is taking the UFC by storm. At just 24 years old, Griffin has won five UFC fights, and has been apart of three Fight of the Night award winners.

On a four fight win streak, Tyson has gone all three rounds with the energizer bunny known by MMA fans as Clay Guida, as well as Thiago Tavares, Gleison Tibau, and Marcus Aurelio. This fight could rocket Tyson into the spotlight, and will give him another "name" win.

I'm going to have to ride "The Muscle Shark" to victory. In a fight between two wrestlers, I have to pick the superior wrestler. What will be the method of victory you ask? Unanimous decision after a grueling 15 minutes of what will be a very technical, and probably boring fight.

I'm just going to list the rest of the fights and how I see them going.

• Goran Reljic 3rd round TKO over Thales Leites
• Marcus Aurelio by Unanimous decision over Hermes Franca
• Ricardo Alemeida by Split Decision over Matt Horwich
• Gray Maynard by Unanimous Decision over Rich Clementi
• Pete Sell by 1st round Submission over Josh Burkman
• Shannon Gugerty by 3rd round Submission over Spencer Fisher

There are sure to be many disagreements here so feel free to express them.

On a side note, I will be taking a bit of a break from Bleacher Report due to some personal issues that I'm trying to fix. Bleacher Report has become like a home to me with nothing but kind people helping me and supporting me along the way. Thank you all for your kindness and I hope to see you guys again soon.