[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]UFC 183 live on Saturday from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas will feature the return of one of the greatest fighters in MMA history in Anderson Silva as he returns to the cage.
Out since a horrific leg injury, suffered at the hand of middleweight champion Chris Weidman in December of 2013, the fact that Silva is back in the octagon, is anything short of a miracle. In what was a gruesome sight as his lower leg was literally dangling from his ankle, Silva’s storied career was at risk.
Before this horrific event, Silva had become what some fans and MMA experts consider the greatest fighter in any sport of all-time. Silva had won 16 straight fights in the UFC, 14 of them as middleweight champion. He claimed the belt from another legend, Rich Franklin at UFC 64 back in October 2006.
He dominated everyone in his path for seven long years before losing to Weidman at UFC 162 in July of 2013. It was a gigantic upset that saw the unbeatable Silva get knocked out.
Prior to that, the man known in UFC circles as “The Spider” beat a who’s who in MMA including Rich Franklin twice, Forrest Griffin, Dan Henderson, Nate Marquardt, Thales Leites, Demian Maia, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort and countless others.
Most of his wins came by first or second-round knockout. His legacy will never be questioned and his fan support will never be lessened. His task on Saturday night will be to get past the always-tough Nic Diaz.
Diaz, the resident UFC bad boy who constantly runs his mouth and calls out the organization for all of it’s so called faults, is always complaining and has a history of letting his big mouth talk him into severe beatings.
Diaz was a force at one point in his own right. As a former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion he also beat some of the tops names in the sport including Frank Shamrock, KJ Noons, and Paul Daley. However, he hasn’t won a big fight since 2011 with a win over the aging BJ Penn.
Since then he has went through a terrible beating at the hands of both George St. Pierre and Carlos Condit, with a year long suspension for smoking pot in the middle of that. Odds are Diaz will miss weight because he simply doesn’t care about anything more than his next paycheck. Silva can do the MMA world a favor by knocking him out early, and showing the world that the Spider is back![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]