ANY SILVA SLIP-UPS ON THE HORIZON? – Cote Vs. Silva Odds

BetUS Sportsbook bettors who love mixed martial arts will once again get to see the man the UFC likes to refer to as the "best pound-for-pound" fighter in the world when Anderson Silva takes to the Octagon for a defense of his UFC middleweight crown. He will be facing Patrick Cote in what will be the first UFC event ever held in the Chicago area. It is set for October 25 at the Allstate Arena (formerly the Horizon) in Rosemont, just outside the Windy City.

BetUS UFC Betting Odds

UFC 90
UFC Middleweight title

October 25 -- Chicago
ANDERSON SILVA -800
PATRICK COTE +425

For betting purposes, let's look at the contestants:

SILVA (22-4, 13 KO's), the -800 favorite in the BetUS UFC betting odds, reigned supreme in PRIDE and was a Shooto middleweight champion before making his UFC debut in June of 2006 as he knocked out Chris Leben. In his next fight he halted Rich Franklin on strikes in the first round to capture the UFC's middleweight title. Silva has made three successful defenses of that championship; one of those was a rematch with Franklin that lasted a minute and seven seconds into the second round.

At UFC 82 Silva gained a submission over former PRIDE welterweight and middleweight champion Dan Henderson to win what was the most high-profile fight of his career. And last time out (July 19) he ventured into the light heavyweight ranks, punching out James Irvin in a minute and a second on Spike TV, as UFC ran counter-programming to the Affliction: Banned show that was taking place the same night on pay-per-view. Silva is known as one of the most versatile fighters in the world, who loves to throw hands, but at the same time is capable of subduing anyone in the world when it comes to the ground game.

COTE (12-4, 6 KO's), the +425 underdog at BetUS, is known as "The Predator." A native of Quebec and a former member of the Canadian Army, he is a "stable mate" of Georges St. Pierre, who also trains at Brazilian Top Team Canada. Cote first made his mark in the Canadian-based TKO Major League MMA, where he won that organization's light heavyweight title in November of 2003 with a first-round KO of Steve Vigneault. That was his fourth pro fight, and only a couple of fights later he came in as a late substitute against Tito Ortiz, against whom he went the entire three-round distance in losing a decision.

Cote lost his first four UFC fights (including one to the aforementioned Chris Leben) before getting in the win column with a decision against Scott Smith at UFC 67. Perhaps his best win was at UFC 74 as he stopped Ultimate Fighter winner Kendall Grove with strikes in one round. Last time out he scored a split decision win over Ricardo Almeida. That was on July 5, at UFC 86. Cote has won five fights in a row.

Cote has a background in wrestling, but he actually prefers to stand up and strike. That's his game plan. But that also plays into the hands of Silva, who is considered by some to be the most deadly striker in the middleweight class. Silva showed what he could do when moving up in weight in his latest performance, as he simply caught the dangerous James Irvin coming in and clocked him. The fight ended early, and served notice that Silva would be fully prepared to bring his power with him in the event he moved up in weight. But there is no solace for fellow 185-pounders, as Silva is quite content to continue defending his middleweight crown.