UFC News: Anderson Silva Defeats Nick Diaz At UFC 183
“The Spider” is back, winning a main event that was light on action tonight at the MGM Grand. Anderson Silva defeated Nick Diaz by unanimous decision in Las Vegas at UFC 183, Silva’s first UFC bout since breaking his leg in December, 2013, during a fight with Chris Weidman.
Silva dominated the judge’s scorecards after landing 108 strikes to Diaz’s 80 strikes in the UFC 183 main event. Following the fight, Diaz appeared shocked at the scoring of the fight, telling Joe Rogan, “I feel like I won every round.” He went on to add, “The judges don’t like my attitude.”
Fight stats show that Silva was more efficient in the bout, landing 49 percent of his strikes compared to Diaz only connecting on 35 percent. Silva appeared more engaged in the match, whereas Diaz was reluctant to engage the former UFC middleweight champion.
IT’S OVER! Anderson Silva beats Nick Diaz by unanimous decision, wins 1st fight back since breaking leg in Dec. 2013. pic.twitter.com/JDCjlKOJZF
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 1, 2015
The action was slow in the first two rounds of the fight. Round number one consisted of Diaz trying to imitate and taunt Silva, at one point sprawling himself out on the octagon’s canvas. There was an exchange of punches just before the end of the round, but besides that flurry, the round was less than exciting.
Diaz appeared to be the more active fighter for much of the second round, but he was unsuccessful at connecting with Silva. Silva was more methodical and efficient with his approach, and the two men were basically even in strikes heading to the middle of the fight.
When round three started, it was apparent that Anderson Silva was ready to go. Silva picked up the pace and started to score points by landing more blows, though Diaz landed some shots as well. There wasn’t much grappling going on here as the fight was more of a sparring match than a world class mixed martial arts exhibition.
Round four was again slow paced with very little action, and it caused the fans at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to boo both Diaz and Anderson as they headed to their corners to prepare for the final round. The fans came to their feet again when the bell sounded for the fifth round, but neither Diaz nor Silva appeared aggressive in the final frame. A reluctance to engage again plagued both Silva and Diaz. Both men landed some hard blows, but it was apparent Silva had won the round when the final bell sounded.
Amazingly, this was Silva’s first non-title UFC bout in over eight years. With his victory tonight, Anderson Silva moves into third place all time for most victories in the UFC. The only fighters ahead of him are Matt Hughes (18) and Georges St-Pierre (19).
[Image via MMAFighting.com]
