Patrick Cote tore the meniscus in his right knee during the third round of his main event fight against middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 90: "Silva vs. Cote" at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., this past weekend, according to SportsNet.ca.
"The Predator" will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery to repair the damage next week and possibly be out of action for up to eight months.
The report indicates that the Canadian actually suffered the injury just four weeks out from the fight and decided to push through it and challenge "The Spider" rather than withdraw from the card, which had already been ravaged by injuries.
He took a cortisone shot to dull any discomfort prior to the showdown and all seemed to be good until Cote tweaked the knee in the second round. Cote then came out for the third round and lasted just 39 seconds -- he collapsed in a heap when the meniscus finally gave way.
Referee Herb Dean waived off the action, ending perhaps one of the most bizarre title fights in recent memory. In fact, the antics of Silva before the stoppage combined with the freak injury has numerous critics nationwide lambasting the pay-per-view (PPV) event despite solid action on the main card.
It also appears to have struck a nerve with Silva who typically shows up, takes care of business in less than 10 minutes and collects fat bonus checks for his destruction. Not on Saturday night, however.
The silver lining in all of this is that the champion will likely be eager to return to the Octagon sooner rather than later having suffered no damage and wanting to redeem himself fast. Of course, the Cote injury means that there will be no rematch anytime soon -- a prospect that likely would not agree with most fans at this time, anyway.
In the meantime, best wishes go out to Cote that he makes a fast and complete recovery.
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