UFC 90: Anderson Silva Retains
UFC 90 brought the promotion to the Chicago area on October 25, 2008, with a middleweight championship fight at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. Anderson Silva retained his title when Patrick Côté suffered a knee injury, but the evening’s most emphatic arrival belonged to heavyweight newcomer Junior dos Santos, who stopped Fabricio Werdum in his UFC debut.
Video: UFC’s official retrospective on Junior dos Santos’s debut against Fabricio Werdum at UFC 90.
A knee injury cuts short the title fight
Silva and Côté entered the main event with very different expectations surrounding them. The champion was already established as one of the sport’s leading fighters, while the challenger needed to turn an opportunity against a formidable opponent into the biggest win of his career. Côté remained willing to advance, even as Silva used space and selective offense to make him work for exchanges.
Across the opening two rounds, the Canadian absorbed Silva’s attacks and continued trying to engage. Silva landed strikes at range and in close, but Côté stayed in the contest. The anticipated championship conclusion never arrived: early in the third round, Côté’s right knee gave way as he planted to move forward. He fell, attempted to get up, and could not continue.
Referee Herb Dean stopped the bout at 0:39 of Round 3. The official result was a TKO victory for Silva because of the injury. The outcome extended Silva’s unbeaten UFC run to eight fights and gave him his fourth successful middleweight title defense, though the abrupt ending left the audience without a sustained final exchange between champion and challenger.
Dos Santos changes the heavyweight conversation
Werdum arrived with recent stoppage victories over Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon Vera and was pursuing a heavyweight title opportunity. Dos Santos, by contrast, was making his first appearance in the promotion. Their meeting put an established contender opposite a newcomer with an immediate chance to disrupt that path.
The Brazilian debutant seized that chance with a right uppercut that dropped Werdum, followed by strikes that brought the referee in. The official event record lists the finish at 1:21 of the first round. The speed of the upset made it an unmistakable introduction: dos Santos had defeated a leading heavyweight before most spectators had much time to assess him.
Alves strengthens his case at welterweight
Thiago Alves defeated Josh Koscheck by unanimous decision in the co-main event. Koscheck had stepped in after Diego Sanchez was injured, accepting a demanding matchup on short notice. Alves’s victory added another prominent name to a run that already included Matt Hughes and moved him toward a title challenge against Georges St-Pierre.
The lightweight main-card bouts both reached the judges. Gray Maynard beat Rich Clementi, while former champion Sean Sherk defeated Tyson Griffin. Sherk and Griffin’s active stand-up exchanges were a reminder that fighters known for wrestling could also produce an engaging contest on the feet.
Preliminary submissions and decision wins
Thales Leites submitted Drew McFedries just 1:18 into the opening round. Spencer Fisher also won by submission, finishing Shannon Gugerty late in the third. Dan Miller, Hermes França and Pete Sell each earned unanimous decisions, completing a five-bout preliminary card beneath the championship attraction.
Complete UFC 90 results
Main card
- Anderson Silva def. Patrick Côté — TKO (knee injury), Round 3, 0:39; retained the middleweight title.
- Thiago Alves def. Josh Koscheck — unanimous decision, Round 3, 5:00.
- Gray Maynard def. Rich Clementi — unanimous decision, Round 3, 5:00.
- Junior dos Santos def. Fabricio Werdum — TKO, Round 1, 1:21.
- Sean Sherk def. Tyson Griffin — unanimous decision, Round 3, 5:00.
Preliminary card
- Thales Leites def. Drew McFedries — submission, Round 1, 1:18.
- Spencer Fisher def. Shannon Gugerty — submission, Round 3, 3:56.
- Dan Miller def. Matt Horwich — unanimous decision, Round 3, 5:00.
- Hermes França def. Marcus Aurélio — unanimous decision, Round 3, 5:00.
- Pete Sell def. Josh Burkman — unanimous decision, Round 3, 5:00.
A card remembered for different reasons
UFC 90 paired an inconclusive-feeling championship ending with a decisive heavyweight breakthrough. Silva left with his belt, Alves reinforced his position among the welterweight contenders, and dos Santos supplied the image that gave the event its enduring highlight. Those separate stories explain why the night remains more than a footnote in a champion’s title-defense record.
Sources
Article Tags
UFC 90, Anderson Silva, Patrick Côté, Junior dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum, UFC Results
