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Silva vs. Cote to headline UFC 90 in Chicago

Middleweight champ to return to natural weigh class and defend title

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NBCSports.com
updated 10:49 a.m. ET July 28, 2008

Just days after moving up weight classes to defeat James Irvin, Anderson Silva has signed on to return to his natural middleweight class and defend his UFC title against Patrick Cote.

The match will headline UFC 90 in the organization's maiden voyage to Chicago on Oct. 25.

Silva (22-4) needed just 61 seconds to defeat Irvin via TKO on July 19, giving him seven straight wins in the octagon. The Brazilian is considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and is highly regarded for his precision strikes and black belt jiu-jitsu.

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Cote (14-4) has won five straight matches, including a split decision over Ricardo Almeida in his most recent effort at UFC 86.

Cote is known as a big puncher who struggled during the early part of his UFC career but has improved as he rounded out his skill-set.

Cote and Japanese fighter Yushin Okami were considered the prime candidates to face Silva in his next title defense, but Okami suffered a hand injury in training, leaving him out of action for the forseeable future.

© 2008 NBC Sports.com

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