Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - When UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva steps into the Octagon to defend his crown against Patrick Cote, four interested observers will be on hand, looking to add victories to their records on October 25th’s UFC 90 card in Chicago in the hopes of moving ever closer to a challenge of the man at the top of the 185-pound weight class.
When UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva steps into the Octagon to defend his crown against Patrick Cote, four interested observers will be on hand, looking to add victories to their records on October 25th’s UFC 90 card in Chicago in the hopes of moving ever closer to a challenge of the man at the top of the 185-pound weight class.
In two bouts just made official today by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, unbeaten Goran Reljic will make his debut at 185 pounds against highly-regarded contender Thales Leites, and Jiu-Jitsu ace Ricardo ‘Big Dog’ Almeida will be back in action against UFC debutant Matt Horwich.
Known primarily for his ground game thanks to an unbeaten record that saw him five of his first seven bouts by submission, Zagreb, Croatia’s Reljic (8-0) instead showed a vicious standup attack in his UFC debut at UFC 84 in May as he stopped light heavyweight contender Wilson Gouveia in the second round. On October 25th, Reljic will drop down to middleweight to take on Rio De Janeiro, Brazil’s Thales Leites (13-1), who is on a four fight winning streak, with UFC victories over Pete Sell, Floyd Sword, Ryan Jensen, and most recently, Nate Marquardt.
A five year veteran with a pro MMA record of 23-10-1, Gresham, Oregon’s Horwich will finally make his long-awaited UFC debut this October, and with wins over Octagon vets Josh Burkman, Jason MacDonald, Vernon White, and Benji Radach already under his belt, this 29-year old battler should fit right in. Standing across from him on fight night though will be a formidable foe in Almeida (9-3), one of the sport’s best ground fighters and winner of seven of his last eight bouts, with victories coming over the likes of Nate Marquardt, Ryo Chonan, and Kazuo Misaki.
Tickets for UFC 90 – Silva vs Cote – which will be held at the Allstate Arena - go on sale to the general public at 10am CT on Monday, August 18th. UFC Fight Club members will have the opportunity to obtain tickets on Friday, August 15th at 10am CT, and UFC newsletter subscribers will be able to participate in a special internet ticket pre-sale on Sunday, August 17th at 10am CT.
The official press conference for UFC 90 will take place at noon on Monday, August 18th, at the Park Grill at Millennium Plaza in Chicago, with Silva, Cote, Diego Sanchez, and Thiago Alves in attendance. The outdoor press conference, which is hosted by UFC President Dana White, is not open to the public, but it will be visible to fans from “The Bean” at Millennium Park.
