Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz will look to get back into the win column later tonight (Jan. 31, 2015) at UFC 183 inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Between these two very different strikers, what adjustments must be made for either man in order to claim victory? Find out how below!
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweights Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz will finally meet inside the Octagon TONIGHT (Jan. 31, 2015) at UFC 183 inside MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After ruling over UFC's middleweight division for a very long time, Silva finds himself in a non-title fight at middleweight for the first time since his debut. Regardless of whether Silva wishes to work his way back to the title or simply keep competing, a victory here is quite vital.
Diaz may be the known as the UFC's bad boy -- which he lived up to with his momentary disappearance -- but he's undoubtedly a brave scrapper. Out-sized and, at least on paper, outmatched, Diaz will look to overcome some major odds once more.
Let's take a look at the keys to victory for each fighter.
Anderson Silva
Record: 33-6
Key Wins: Chael Sonnen (UFC 148, UFC 117). Vitor Belfort (UFC 126), Forrest Griffin (UFC 101)
Key Losses: Chris Weidman (UFC 166, UFC 162)
Keys to Victory: Silva is one of the finest counter strikers in the sport's history. Once Silva commits to his attack, he's a master of releasing brutal combinations of many strikes while maintaining a very high degree of accuracy.
The 20 knockout victories on his record are certainly no accident.
In this bout, Silva faces an extremely durable pressure boxer. While excellent pressure and boxing have both been effective against Silva in the past, a strong wrestling base was mandatory as well.
Unfortunately for Diaz, takedowns have never been his strong suit.
Therefore, Silva should find plenty of opportunities to slam his fists, elbows, and shins into his opponent, who's more accustomed to absorbing strikes from welterweights. In short, unless Diaz has evolved tremendously or Silva has regresses, this bout should not be too difficult to predict.
On the technical front, Silva should look to keep his back off the cage, simply to avoid unnecessary punches. However, if Diaz does walk him to the fence, Silva can still turn the tide in his favor. Silva is a big, fairly strong middleweight and an expert at striking from the double-collar tie, while Diaz is a blown up welterweight willing to lower his head for body punches.
You do the math.
Nick Diaz
Record: 26-9 (1)
Key Wins: BJ Penn (UFC 137), Paul Daley (Strikeforce: Diaz vs Daley), Takenori Gomi (PRIDE 33)
Key Losses: George St. Pierre (UFC 158), Carlos Condit (UFC 143)
Keys to Victory: Diaz is one of the most dangerous volume punchers in the sport, resulting in 13 knockout victories. Utilizing his incredible conditioning and flurries of body shots, Diaz quickly drags his opponent into deep waters and then drowns them.
In addition, Diaz is one of very few men to earn a black belt under Cesar Gracie. Though Diaz does not often enter bouts with the submission on his mind, he's quite the opportunist and has finished eight of his foes via tapout.
As mentioned, Diaz's chance of success is not all that high in this bout. Silva is nearly a five-to-one favorite, and the odds are only that close because Silva is coming off a pair of losses and a debilitating injury.
With all that in mind, it's clear what Diaz needs to do: stick with what he knows. There's no possible way that he has developed a whole new skill set specifically to take out "The Spider." Not only would it probably be impossible, but Diaz isn't exactly the type of fighter to adapt to his opponents.
Instead, Diaz needs to walk his man down and throw in volume. It's not likely -- and he's almost certain to eat some heavy leather along the way -- but Diaz could begin to connect on his strikes. If that's the case, Diaz may be able to hurt Silva with punches or at least fatigue him, as the former champion is getting older.
There's a very reasonable argument that Diaz needs to evolve in order to compete with the best in the world. However, now is not the time for Diaz to do anything but bite down on his mouth guard and look to box his opponent up.
Bottom Line: This fight has two of the most fascinating personalities in the sport in it, and both are known to commit acts of incredible violence. It may not make sense from a matchmaking perspective, but I damn sure will be watching.
Silva is looking to rebound from a loss streak for the first time in his career. He's nearly 40 years old, so working his way back to a title shot is unlikely, but it's still possible for the former champion if that is his goal. But first, he needs to prove that he's still got it against Stockton's bad boy.
Should Silva lose, it would confirm that this is the end of his career as a top fighter. Losing to Weidman twice is one thing -- the New Yorker is proving himself to be quite exceptional -- but a fighter like Diaz would not have troubled Silva even two years ago.
As is always the case for the massive underdog, Diaz has a huge opportunity on his hands. A victory here -- combined with the highlight reel knockout of Robbie Lawler from way back in the day -- could very easily land Diaz in a title shot at welterweight. Again, it's another fight that makes very little sense in terms of rankings, but people would love to see it.
On the other hand, the expected loss won't really hurt Diaz much. It's outside of his usual weight class and against perhaps the greatest fighter of all time, very few fight fans outside of Diaz's devoted fan base expect him to win. Were he to return to welterweight, Diaz would not be far from the top of the division.
At UFC 183, Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz will finally collide inside the Octagon. Which man will walk away with the win?
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