What Now For Anderson Silva?

Anderson Silva retained his middleweight title after defeating Patrick "The Predator" Cote on Saturday night.

The fight was a fairly strange affair though and marred an otherwise solid card. Silva tap-danced around Cote for the first two rounds, leading the crowd to start booing due to the lack of action. Cote blew out his knee at the beginning of the third round, and Silva was awarded the victory. Silva had won the first two rounds of the fight, though he was certainly less offensive compared to other fights that he has been involved in.

The big question now is: what's next for Silva? Here are some possibilities:

1. Cote rematch. Cote was the first UFC fighter to ever "take" Silva into the third round of a fight. He ended up losing because of an injury - normally this would be a formula for a rematch, but I don't see it happening. Fans didn't enjoy this fight, and I can't see people shelling out money for another card headlined by Silva/Cote. Cote was a game opponent, but he didn't put Silva in danger at all during the fight. I have a feeling that the UFC will stay far away from a Cote/Silva rematch - the only way that I see this happening is if they put it on Spike TV for free. But in the end, I can't see the UFC wasting Silva in another fight with Cote, especially if Silva is planning on retiring at the end of his contract as he has previously stated. Likelihood: Very Small.

2. Yushin Okami. Was originally supposed to fight Silva instead of Cote, but was forced to pull out of the fight due to an injury. Has previously beaten Silva (after Silva was DQ'd for an illegal kick). The UFC may choose to play up the angle of Silva avenging one of his previous losses, but I don't really see this fight happening either any time soon. I think that the UFC has other plans for Silva. Likelihood: Small to Moderate.

3. Another fight at Light Heavyweight. To me, this seems like the most viable option for the UFC. The Anderson Silva hype train went off the tracks slightly after UFC 90 - what better way to excite fans than a "big" fight for Silva at light heavyweight? The UFC has a string of monster PPVs coming up, and another Silva fight at light heavyweight would surely continue to run. There have been rumblings of a Silva vs Liddell fight, but I'm pretty sure that Liddell wouldn't want that fight (yet). How about Silva vs the loser of the Jackson/Wanderlei Silva fight? Silva/Jackson or Silva/Silva would both be great fights. There are a number of great fights available for Silva at light heavyweight. A Silva vs Luiz Cane would also be a great fight as well, as both fighters possess tremendous striking. This seems to be the best option for the UFC right now. Likelihood: Moderate.

There doesn't seem to be too much for Silva at middleweight right now, which is the reason why I think that he will fight at light heavyweight in his next fight.

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