The Most Anticlimactic Match in UFC History Throws Entire Division into Flux

Wow, to say the least. Let me just recap for those that did not see it.

Round One

The bell rings and both fighters touch gloves. Anderson looks very confident and maybe even a little cocky. Cote looks rock solid and ready to take it to the champ. The entire first round sees Anderson running around really just sizing up Cote. Pat doesn't show any sign of weakness and takes a brutal knee that cuts his forehead. The man is for real.

Round Two

This is where the beginning of the end started. Somehow, Cote hurts his ankle, or so we think. The round begins exactly where it left off, but this time, the strikes really start to fly. We see everything from jumping kicks to spinning backfists. Silva gets a takedown with about two minutes left but nothing comes of it.

Pat gets a nice elbow in from the bottom though. Then we get to see one of the greatest moments in UFC history. Anderson gets up, throws little girl kicks at Pat's legs, and then puts his hand out to help Cote up. Pat, skeptical of the motives behind this act, waits for Herb Dean to back Silva off. Bell rings, and Cote is still alive and is now the first man in the UFC to take Silva to the third round.

Round Three

The most anticlimactic finish in UFC history. 39 seconds in, we see Cote drop down to the ground in agony after an awkward landing. Try as he might to show his heart and get back in the fight, Herb Dean calls the fight and Anderson Silva is still the champ.

Unbelievable. Patrick Cote stood with the most accurate striker in UFC history (lands 69 percent of his strikes, average is 35 percent) and comes out unscathed. This fight had all the makings of a five rounder, and we may very well have seen the second coming of Matt Serra in that octagon. Unfortunately for Cote, his knee forbade him from going any further. 

After the fight, Silva showed great respect for Pat (unlike the Chicago crowd which was very disrespectful and boo'd every single fighter, even UFC legends Matt Hughes, Dan Severn, and UFC welterweight champ GSP). The question still remains though: Could Cote have won the fight.

After the first two rounds of the fight, I had it scored 20-18 for Silva. Although not much went on in the first round, Silva landed a nasty knee and was more effective. Pat showed no fear though, stalking Silva around the octagon, just as his nickname would suggest.

Silva took the second round by taking Pat down and landing more strikes, once again. In order for Pat to have won, he would have either had to finish Silva, something that no UFC fighter has come close to doing in the octagon, or won the next three rounds.

In order for Pat to have won those rounds tough, they actually had to happen. Who knows what would have happened? Would Anderson be the first person in the UFC to TKO/KO Cote? We also found out that neither man had ever been knocked down either.

Would he have just chipped away for the remaining rounds and just taken a decision? Would Cote have caught and finished "the Spider," or would he rallied to take the next three rounds and steal a decision? The only way we will ever get the answers to those questions is by seeing the two men fight again.

As of right now, we don't know the extent of the injury, although Pat looked to be walking fine after the official decision, he may have been hiding the pain. The rematch is really dependent upon Cote's health. If Joe Rogan was correct and it is an MCL injury, Cote could miss anywhere from one week for a Grade One tear, to six-plus weeks in the event of a Grade Three tear; that's not even taking in consideration a possible surgery.

No doubt Cote is still the No. 1 contender, but an immediate rematch might be out of the question.

Their are plenty of guys in the division secretly praying that Cote is seriously injured and out of the picture. It sounds horrible, but I guarantee it's happening. Thales Leites had a nasty showing after submitting Drew McFedries in the first round by way of his world class Jiu-Jitsu. Then, of course, there is always a fight at LHW for Anderson while he waits for Pat to heal.

Then we bring in the possibility of the biggest fight in MMA history. If GSP gets by B.J. Penn, rumor has it that he will meet Anderson in a catchweight fight in a clash between the top-two pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

So what would you do if you were Dana White? Do you have Silva wait for Cote and have the two put an end to all the questions? Do you have Anderson take a fight at LHW, and make Cote wait until late 2009 for his rematch?

Maybe you just totally discount Cote and have Silva fight Leites or Okami for the title. I want to know what you guys think. As always, leave all comments and questions below.