Ever since the UFC announced the return of both of my favorite fighters, Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz, I was more than excited. What makes it even more satisfying is that, their returning bout will be against each other in the Middleweight division. Without question, the MMA world is in for a treat this Saturday night.
Anderson Silva versus Nick Diaz is an intriguing match up. Both of these fighters have similarities. Each holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, they're phenomenal strikers, and they like to taunt their opponents while fighting. Nick Diaz is agurely one of the hardest working fighters in this sport. The Stockton bad boy was a former Strikeforce and WEC Welterweight Champion. Along with that, he competed for PRIDE FC, DREAM, Shooto, and the Elite XC. The Brazilian MMA star, Anderson "The Spider" Silva, is without an doubt, the greatest mixed martial artist ever. The former UFC Middleweight Champion holds the UFC record of having the longest title defenses with ten. In addition, he has received twelve post fight bonuses in the organization.
Both fighters are coming off a long layoff. Nick Diaz hasn't fought since 2013. At his last fight at UFC 158, he loss to Georges St-Pierre in a Welterweight Champion bout. After this loss, Diaz refused to climb up the Welterweight ranks, which made it clear that he wasn't going to compete again unless it was against a worthy opponent. Anderson Silva suffered two back to back losses against the current Middleweight Champion, Chris Weidman. In his first bout against Weidman, Silva loss via knockout, and in the second fight, he suffered another loss where he experienced one of the most gruesome injuries in MMA history.
Now, this match between Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz is the main event at UFC 183, and whoever wins, will become the number one contender in the Middleweight division. Will "The Spider" have another chance to redeem himself against Weidman, or will the Stockton bad boy earn another shot at capturing the UFC title? This Saturday night we will see!
